THE 


PROTECTOR: 


^ 


VliNDiCATION.  ^^ 


-^^ 


J.   H.   MERLE   D'AUBIGNE,   YyX>. 


% 


I  know  God  has  been  above  all  iii  reporls,  and  will  in  llis  own  umc  vindicate  me 

—Oliver  Cromwell :  Letter  to  Coi.  .Vurlon,  28  March,  16*3. 
'I'ota  cdhors  I'upistica  vcrani  inoliliir  r.onjiirntlonem  In  nostros,  In  no».  :  .  .Sit  Den* 

Zaliiinlli  Protector  Prolcctoris  ct  Ecclesije  ?— i'v'"**""'  UitpntcJt  frvm  Zuriek, 

W  January  1064 


NEW    YORK. 

ROBERT    CARTER,    58    CANAL   STREET; 
AND  PIT'I^BUKG,  5(3  MARKET  STREET. 


&. 


7 


THEOLOGICAL     FACULTY 

or   THE 

F  R  E  D  E  R I C  K  -  W 1 L  L I A  M     U  N  [  V  I']  K  S  !  '!^  ^' 

AT    BERLIN, 
A3    A    MARK    OF    OltATITLDi;    FUOM 

TIIF   AUTHOR. 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


Struck  with  the  light  tnrown  on  the  character  and  history  of  Crom- 
well by  the  various  documents  which  have  issued  from  the  press  during 
the  last  few  years,  I  felt  a  desire  to  publish  in  a  Continental  Review  the 
result  of  my  examination.  But  so  great  was  the  interest  I  found  in  my 
subject,  that  I  have  written  a  Book  rather  than  an  Article,  and  am  now 
compelled  to  renounce  my  first  intentions,  and  to  lay  this  Historical 
Kssay  before  the  Public  in  the  form  of  a  distinct  work. 

Before  I  had  attentively  read  Oliver  Cromirdl's  L'tt^rs  and  Speeches, 
edited  by  Mr.  Thoma.s  Carlylk,  I  thought  it  would  be  beneficial  to 
translate  his  volumes  into  French ;  but  my  ojunions  in  that  respect  are 
changed.  They  appear  to  us  generally  on  the  Continent  to  possess  so 
much  originality  of  thought. and  manner  as  to  defy  all  [wssibility  of  ren- 
dering them  into  any  of  our  languages.  I  would  not  be  understood  as 
censuring  an  undertaking,  which,  in  my  judgment,  is  one  of  the  most  re- 
markable that  has  been  produced  in  Great  Britain  for  a  long  period; 
indeed  I  have  rarely  met  with  any  publication  coinbiiiing  greater  depth 
of  research  with  remarks  as  acute  as  they  are  just.  I  have  profited 
greatly  by  the  scattered  documents  which  Mr.  Carlyle  has  so  hajjpily 
brought  together. 

I  am  not  insensible  to  the  imperfections  of  the  volume  I  now  present 
to  the  English  public.  I  therefore  beg  my  readers  to  call  to  mind  that 
my  original  design  was  merely  to  write  an  article  for  a  Review. 

The  object  of  this  work, the  rectification  of  the  common  opinion 

with  regard  to  Cromwell's  religious  characti-r,  has  obliged  the  Author  to 
introtluce  many  quotations  from  his  Letters  and  Speex-hes.  Mere  a.sser- 
tion  or  argument  without  proof  would  have  been  useless.  It  Is  notrce 
who  ought,  in  this  day,  to  justify  the  great  Protector;  he  should  justify 
himself;  and  fortunately  authentic  and  authoritative  testimony  is  not 
wanting  for  this  pur])o.se.  This  circumstance  will  explain  t!ie  ilitTerenee 
between  the  volume  now  submitted  to  the  reader  and  the  .Vutlior's  other 
historical  compositions.  But  hf  may  also  observe  that  the  special  nature 
of  this  work  neemed  >>  in  to  intnxluee  reflections, 

miinewhat  more  extci.  iy  lulong  to  history. 

Should  any  of  my  fiicail.s  !)>;  burpiisud  at  the  choice  of  my  subject, 
I  would  remind  them  that  the  eporh  to  which  it  relates  is,  purhapa,  one 

1* 


VI  ADVERTISEMENT. 

of  the  most  important  in  modern  times,  so  far  as  concerns  the  new 
developments  of  nations ;  that  Southey  has  said,  "  there  is  no  portion 
of  history  in  which  it  so  much  behooves  an  EngUshman  to  be  thoroughly 
versed,  as  in  that  of  Cromwell's  age ;"  and  above  all,  that  "  life  would  be 
nothing  worth,  if  it  were  not  employed  to  tell  and  to  maintain  the  truth," 
more  especially  a  truth  overlooked  or  forgotten. 

Ubi  plura  citeiit non  ego  paucis 

Oflendar  maculis. 

I  will  make  one  observation  more ;  although  the  Protector  is  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  its  main  interest  does  not  consist  in  him,  but  in  Prot- 
estantism. Protestantism  in  Cromwell's  mind  was  far  above  his  own 
person.  No  book  can  treat  worthily  of  the  great  Oliver,  if  the  Protest- 
ant interest  does  not  hold  the  foremost  place  in  it.  We  speak  in  his  spirit 
when  we  respect  the  ancient  motto  : 

Deo  soli  gloria,  omnia  humana  idola  pereant ! 

Protestantism  is  the  great  interest  of  Europe,  of  the  world, — and,  es- 
pecially at  this  moment,  the  great  interest  of  England.  While  revising 
this  essay,  I  met  with  a  learned  and  distinguished  work  by  an  anonymous 
author  on  German  Protestantism.  I  was  delighted  to  find  that  my  ideas  in 
many  cases  agreed  with  his,  and  I  have,  in  several  instances,  profited 
by  them.  All  the  Protestant  forces  must  now  be  aroused ;  and  to  that 
end,  it  is  the  duty  of  every  evangelical  writer  to  point  them  out.  This 
task  I  have  here  feebly  attempted,  and  I  shall  perhaps  resume  it  at  some 
future  period,  by  publishing  a  few  recollections  of  the  journey  I  made 
in  1843  through  Germany,  England,  and  Scotland. 

The  Theological  Faculty  of  the  University  of  Berlin  having  recently 
conferred  upon  me  the  degree  of  Doctor  in  Divinity, — a  title  which  I 
had  received  some  years  ago  from  the  College  of  Princeton,  New  Jer- 
sey, United  States, — I  think  it  my  duty  to  conform  with  the  German 
custom,  and  dedicate  to  that  learned  body  the  first  Work  published  by 
me  subsequently  to  that  high  honor.  Tliis  will  explain  to  my  British 
readers  the  motives  for  the  Dedication  prefixed  to  this  Volume. 

J.  H.  MERLE  D'AUBIGNE. 

Geneva,  May  1847. 


The  .\ulhor  having  observed  that  in  England  he  is  frequently  called  Dr.  D'Au 
lin-iie,  takes  the  liberty  of  reminding  his  readers  that  his  name  is  Merle  d'Aubigne; 
the  latter  apiiellation  being  assumed  by  his  grandl'ather  to  prevent  a  name  from  be- 
coming e.xtinct  which  deserved  well  of  Protestantism.  As  it  proceeds  from  a  mat- 
rimonial alliance,  ills  not  sufficient  of  itself  to  designate  the  Author. 


CONTENTS. 


Introduction Page  11 

CHAPTER  I. 

Cromwell's  private  life. 

Tendency  of  the  Stuarts — The  Protestant  Interest — Letter  from  a  Coun- 
try Gentleman — A  Family  on  the  Banks  of  the  Ouse — The  Earl  of 
Essex — Oliver — His  Birth  and  Parentage — A  Hunting  Match — James 
1. — Oliver  at  the  University,  and  in  I.ondon — His  jMorality — His  Mar- 
riage— His  Conversions — His  Connections — Pleasantry — Charles  I. 
— His  Marriage,  and  the  Twelve  Capuchin  Friars — Influence  of  the 
Queen — Oliver's  Conscientiousness 23 

CHAPTER  II. 

Cromwell's  parliamentary  life. 

Cromwell's  Election  and  First  Appearance  in  Parliament — His  Portrait 
— Tonnage  and  Poundage — Struggle  in  Parliament — Dissolution — 
John  Hampden's  Refusal — Ahsolutism  and  Popery  installed — Evan- 
gelical Ministers — Persecutions:  Leighton,  Prynne,  Bastwick,  Burton 
— Scotland  and  the  Covenant — IVcw  I'arliaincnt — Strafford— Charles's 
Insinceritv — Irish  Massacre — Remonstrance—  ^lililia  Bill — Cavaliers 
and  Roundheads — Charge  against  Five  Members — Beginning  of  the 
Revolution — CroiiiWLll  and  his  Sons  become  Soldiers— Necessity — 
Hampjlcn's  Opinion  of  Cromwell 35 

CHAPTER  HI. 

0 

BCniSM    BETWEEN    THE    KINO    AND    THE    PARLIAMENT. 

Conquest  of  Liberty — Beginning  of  the  War — Cromwell's  Frankness — 
Letter  to  Barnard — Intervention  in  Favor  of  Hapten  Parish — Doubt- 
ful Advantages — CroinwtH's  Expedi<nt — Fortune  of  War  changrs — 
Cromwell  refuses  to  tuke  p:irt  in  Disorderly  Livin<f — Death  of  Hamp- 
den-The  two  Parliaments— Battle  of  Mav-^  •'  M..,,r-  \  l.ti,,-  .nd 
an   Episodi— Prudence  and  Coiii])assion— '  ir- 

actf-r-HecMm's  the  (» '"it  Chief     Hnffle  nl'  il>- 


1..  .:    i;,. ......    .   i ^.  .      .^..._  ;. ,  ...  .■ '-  :.)ai- 

wells  lllnesi! — Letter  to  Fuirfux — Cromwell  and  his  tiioldiera — Unity 
uf  Man 47 


YIU  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


SCHISM    BETWEEN    THE    PARLIAMEXT    AXD    THE    ARMY. 

The  Two  Parties,  Presbyterians  and  Independents — Claims  of  the  Army 
— Joyce — The  King's  Leaning  towards  the  Independents— Army  man- 
ifesto— ReUgious  Liberty — Eleven  Members  accused — Errors— Influ- 
ence of  Oppression— Unlawful  Intervention  of  tlie  Presbyterians — 
— Opposition  of  the  Army — Independent  Influence— Cromwell  fiivor- 
ably  disposed  towards  the  King — Charles's  Blindness — Letter  found 
in  the  Saddle— The  Silk  Garter  and  the  Hempen  Halter— Cromwell 
despairs  of  Charles — The  King's  Flight — He  reaches  the  Isle  of  Wight 
— Cromwell  suppresses  the  Levellers — Treaty  with  the  Scots — Charles's 
Reply  to  Parliament— The  Pit  and  he  that  diggeth  it Page  64 


CHAPTER  V. 

DEATH    OF    THE    KING. 

Parliament  resolves  to  hold  no  further  Communication  with  the  King — 
Prayer-meeting  at  Windsor — Second  Civil  War — Royalist  Insurrection 
— Scotch  Invasion — Cromwell's  Victories — Parliament  again  treats  with 
the  King — Charles's  Treachery — Great  Alternative — Army  remonstrates 
with  Parliament — Cromwell  justified  by  Facts — The  Woodman  and  the 
Sower — Cromwell  to  Hammond — Truth  and  Error — Th('  King  at  Hurst 
Castle — Parliament  rejects  the  Remonstrance — Coaiposition  of  the  Army 
— The  Army  at  London — Pride's  Purire — Cromwell  s  Hesitation  about 
the  King — Cromwell's  religious  Error — Prayers — The  Will  of  God — 
Death  Warrant — The  Execution  censured — Revelation  of  the  King's 
Treason — Principles  of  the  Roman  Church— Of  Milton — Charles's 
Children — Cromwell  to  his  Daughter-in-law — Cromwell  and  Charlos'^^ 
Corpse — The  European  Powers 7(> 


CHAPTER  VI. 

IRELAND. 

The  Irish  Saint  Bartholomew — Romish  Cruelties — A  Priest — Surgery  or 
Slaughter — Cromwell's  Appointment — Sailing  of  the  Army — Crom- 
well's Plan — Theocracy — Storming  of  Drogheda,  Wexford,  and  Ro^s 
— Peace  and  Prosperity — Cromwell's  charge  to  the  Popish  Prelates — 
Early  days  of  Richard's  ]\Iarriage — Cause  of  Ireland's  Sufferings. 
102 


CHAPTER  VII. 

SCOTLAND. 

Two  Kings  and  two  Loyalties — Charles  II.  in   Scotland— Cromwell's 
Letter  to  the  General  Assembly  and  to  the  Scotch  Commander  in 


CONTENTS. 


Chief— Bailie  of  Duubur — Dispatch  to  Parliinnoiil— The  iMiinlmrgh 
Preachers  in  the  Castle — Cromweirs  Letter — All  Christians  ought  to 
preach  Christ — The  Mali^nafit.^ — ClrouiweH's  Illness — Two  Letters — 
Cromwell  concerning  his  Son  Richard — Worcester — Prosperity  of 
Scotland — Cromwell's  Military  Career — Two  Symbols Page  128 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THK    PROTECTORATE. 

Blake — Love  and  Fear — The  Rump  Parliament— Dissolved  hj  Crom- 
well— The  Little  Parliament — Speech — Cromwell's  Integrity — Re- 
forms— Cromwell's  Longing  for  Peace — The  End — The  Protectorate 
— Constitution — New  Parlmmcnt — Cromwell's  Apology — Death  of 
his  Mother — Obstructions  to  Religious  Liberty — Cromwell  dissolves 
the  Parliament — His  Plans — IjHal,  c'est  iiwi — The  Two  French  In- 
vasions— Revival  of  English  Li!"  ■'••  .  1">0 


CHAPTER  iX. 

OKGAMZATION    OF    CHURCH    AND    STATE. 

Necessity  of  Organization — Ecclesiastical  Commission — Errors — Im])ar- 
tiality — Baxter's  Testimony — Cromwell's — The  State — Discontents- 
Letter  to  Flcetwooil — Bridget's  Anxiety — Indulgence — The  Major- 
Generals — Cromwell's  System  in  Ireland — Official  and  Popular  Prot- 
estantism— Puritan  Mannerism — A  better  Christianity 171 

CHAPTER  X. 

UELIGIOCS     UBERTY. 

Milton  to  Cromwell — Cromwell's  Part  with  regard  to  Religious  Liberty 
— Opposition  to  Rndir;il!<!in,  PoIitic:il  find  Hcli^rirnif^ — F.sfHlili'^hfd  lle- 
ligion  und  Lil'  '        !i 

and  State — (  i  t 

Interests — Tin    . _     .     '.'.  — 

Nuyler — Cromwell  and  tlie  Episcopalians — Roman  Catholics  and 
Jews — State  and  Protestantism  Idrntical— Pn'«<:7;;;rt,  Vila- — A  Dan- 
ger— True  Means  of  DilTusing  Christianity — Ely  Cathedral — State 
and  Church  :  Church  and  People l&i 

CHjVPTER  XI. 

MORALITY,    GLORY,    AND    ANTIPOPERY    OF    ENGLAND. 

The  State— Principal   Duty— The  Glory  of  England— Morality— Tri- 
umphs of  Great  Britain — Commerce — Justice — Opposition  to  Spain — 
Antipopery — Cromwell's  Name — The  Lion  of  the  Tribe  of  Judah. 
204 


CONTENrS. 


CHAPTER  Xn. 

DEFENDER    OF    THE    FAITH. 

Defence  of  Protestantism — Letter  to  a  Protestant  Prince — Piedmontesc 
Massacre-  The  Protector  interferes — Gcneva^Cromwell's  Advice  to 
the  Protestants — Portugal — France :  Nismes — Intervention — Switzer- 
land— Germany — Austria — Council  for  the  general  Interests  of  Prot- 
estantism— The  Protector's  living  Christianity — The  eternal  Truths — 
Pompeii,  Nineveh,  and  the  Bible Page  21 5 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE    KINGSHJP. 

New  Parliament — Ludlow — The  Protector's  Speech — Exclusions — Pro- 
posals about  the  Kingship — Discussions  on  this  Subject  between  the 
Parliament  and  the  Protector — Struggles — Cromwell's  Refusal — Was 
he  right  ] — His  character — Ambition 233 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

LAST    PARLIAMENT    AND    DEATH    OF    THE    PROTECTOR. 

The  Installation — Two  Houses  of  Parliament — The  grand  Design — 
Petty  Quarrels — Parliament  dissolved — Conspiracies — Death  of  Lady 
Claypole — Consolations — Fever — George  Fox  at  Hampton  Court — 
Cromwell's  Words  on  his  Deathbed — Confidence — The  Storm — 
Cromwell's  Successor — His  Prayer  and  Last  Words — His  Death — 
Mourning — Cromwell's  Christian  Character— Oliver  and  the  Pope — 
Restoration  of  Mankind — The  Protestant  Way — Oliver's  Principles — 
The  Pope's  Policy — Conflicts  and  Dangers  of  the  State — The  Two 
Men  of  th«j  SeviPteenth  Century — Conclusion 247 


THE    PROTECTOR. 


INTRODUCTION. 

There  are  great  crises  in  the  history  of  maai,  in  which  the 
sovereignty  of  God  over  kings  and  people,  however  it  may 
be  hidden  for  a  time  from  the  eyes  of  the  midtitude,  is  man- 
ifested with  such  demonstrations  of  power  as  to  excite  the 
conviction  of  even  the  most  incredulous.  While  favoring 
breezes  bear  the  ship  smoothly  over  the  wide  ocean,  the 
crew  and  passengers,  careless  and  inattentive,  forget  the  arm 
of  God,  and  perhaps  give  way  to  blasphemy.  But  when 
"  the  Lord  commandeth  and  raiseth  the  stormy  wind," — 
when  the  billows  dash  over  the  vessel, — when  the  sails  are 
torn  away  and  the  masts  are  broken, — when  these  thought- 
less people  "  mount  up  to  the  heaven,  and  go  down  again  to 

the  depths," then  the  Almighty  appears  to  them  in 

the  midst  of  the  storm : — All  eyes  behold  Him  ;  all  hearts 
tremble  before  Him ;  and  the  most  impious,  falling  on  their 
knees,  cry  to  Him  from  the  bottom  of  their  souls.  When 
man  will  not  hear  the  "  still  small  voice"  in  which  Jehovah 
ordinarily  addresses  him,  then,  to  use  the  language  of  Scrip- 
ture, "  He  passes  by  in  a  great  and  strong  wind,  rending  the 
mountains  and  breaking  the  rocks  in  pieces."  • 

Of  all  the  events  which  diversify  human  histor}',  there  is 
none  in  which  mankind  more  readily  acknowledge  the  inter- 
vention of  the  Deity  than  in  the  revolutions  of  empires, — th« 


12  INXRODUCTION. 

setting  up  and  pulling  down  of  kings.  These  great  changes 
are  usually  attended  by  circumstances  so  unexpected  and  ap- 
palling, that  the  eyes  of  the  blindest  are  opened. 

Such  events  happened  in  England  in  the  middle  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  when  an  attempt  was  made  to  revive 
the  papal  poAver.  In  every  country,  this  enemy,  under  the 
direction  of  the  Jesuits,  was  rising  from  beneath  the  heavy 
blows  inflicted  on  it  by  the  Reformation.  It  possessed  one 
spiritual  head,  Avhich  gave  unity  to  its  movements  ;  and  to 
support  it,  Spain,  a  stirring  and  fanatical  power,  was  devoted 
to  its  interests,  and  ready  to  give  to  it  "  her  seat  and  great 
authority."  (Rev.  xiii.  2.)  Thus  the  Papacy  was  recovering 
a  great  part  of  the  ground  it  had  lost  in  Germany,  France, 
the  Low  Countries,  Spain,  and  even  in  Italy. 

It  was  imagined  that  if  Rome  could  possibly  succeed  in 
re-conquering  England,  her  cause  would  be  gained  and  her 
triumph  secured  throughout  the  world ;  the  fruits  of  the 
Reformation  would  be  forever  lost ;  and  Great  Britain  and 
Europe,  peopled  anew  with  priests,  Jesuits,  and  monks,  would 
sink  as  low  as  Spain  has  sunk. 

The  fearful  commotions  and  sanguinary  conflicts  Avhicli 
shook  the  British  isles  in  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury, were  in  the  main  a  direct  struggle  against  Popery. 
They  were  like  the  shakings  and  shuddering  of  the  earth,  in 
a  country  threatened  with  conflagration  by  subterranean 
fires.  If  a  traveller  in  self-defence  slays  a  highway  robber, 
the  responsibility  of  bloodshed  does  not  rest  on  him.  In 
ordinary  times  his  hand  would  have  been  pure  from  its  stain. 
War  is  war,  and  calls,  alas  !  for  blood.  In  the  days  of  Louis 
XIV.  and  of  the  Stuarts  it  was  a  real  war  that  Popery  waged 
against  the  British  islands. 

In  our  days,  Rome  is  striving  to  re-enter  England  by  means 
of  certain  teachers  :  then,  it  was  through  its  kings.  It  was  the 
misfortune  and  the  crime  of  the  Stuarts  to  have  rallied  around 
Rome,  and  to  haA'e  desired  to  range  their  subjects  under  the 
same  banner.     Charles  I.  was  the  \nctim  of  this  attempt; 


INTRODUCTION.  13 

for  Popery  ever  destroys  both  the  princes  and  the  people 
who  espouse  it.  Of  this  trutli  the  Stuarts  and  the  Bourbons 
are  memorable  examples. 

Strong  measures,  no  doubt,  were  employed  to  save  Eng- 
land from  the  danger  with  which  it  was  threatened.  But  so 
foimidable  a  disease  could  not  be  averted,  except  by  the 
most  active  remedies.  Royalty  was  overthrown ;  and  yet 
royalty  possessed — as  it  does  still — the  respect  of  this  na- 
tion. A  republic  was  established  ;  and  yet  a  republic  in  so 
vast  an  empire  is  a  madman's  dream.  Episcopacy  was  abol- 
ished ;  and  yet  this  is  the  form  of  the  Church  which  the  na- 
tion prefers.  The  blood  of  a  king  was  shed ;  and  yet  the 
inspired  Preacher  saith.  Curse  not  the  kiny,  (x.  20.)  But  jdl 
these  things  were  accomplished,  because  the  counsel  of  God 
had  determined  before  that  they  should  be  done,  (Acts  iv. 
28  ;)  and  thus  the  prophecy  was  fulfilled,  which  saith,  I  gave 
thee  a  king  in  mine  anger,  and  took  him  away  in  my  wrath. 
(Hosea  xiii.  11.) 

If  England  desired  in  the  present  day,  as  her  princes  de- 
sired in  the  seventeenth  c(!ntury,  to  restore  Popery  ; — if  tlie 
number  of  those  unfaithful  ministers,  who  abjure  the  Gospel 
for  the  Pope,  should  multiply  in  her  bosom  ; — if  that  super- 
stitious madness  should  spread  to  their  congregations  ; — if 
the  heads  of  the  Church  should  continue  to  shmiber,  and, 
instead  of  rescuing  their  flocks,  allow  them  to  proceed  to- 
wards the  wolf  that  is  waiting  to  devour  them ; — if  the  gov- 
ernment, not  satisfied  with  granting  liberty  to  Popery,  should 
encourage  it  still  farther  by  endowing  its  seminaries,  paying 
its  priests,  building  its  churches,  and  restoring  througiiout 

Great  Britain  the  power  of  the  Roman  bishop then 

would  England  probably  be  convulsed  by  a  crisis,  diiferent, 
it  might  be,  from  those  which  startled  the  reign  of  Charles, 
but  not  the  less  formidable.  Again  the  earth  would  quake ; 
again  would  it  open  to  pour  forth  devouring  flames.  Oa 
this  account  the  study  of  that  remarkable  era,  in  which  the 

2 


14  IMIIUDUCTIOK, 

first  contest  took  place,  was  never  more  necessary  than  in  the 
present  day. 

In  srlancing  over  those  times,  however,  we  must  make  a 
distinction  between  acts  and  men.  There  are  deeds  which 
we  are  bound  openly  and  vehemently  to  condemn ;  but  we 
should  proceed  too  far  were  we  to  throw  upon  individuals  the 
responsibility  of  the  results.  Does  it  not  sometimes  happen 
in  the  course  of  ages  that  circumstances  occur  so  calculated  to 
shake  the  mind,  that,  dazzled,  stunned,  and  blinded,  men  can 
no  longer  see  their  way,  and  are  mere  instruments  in  the 
hand  of  God  to  punish  and  to  save  ? 

Such  is  the  idea  put  forth  by  an  eminent  writer,  equally 
great  as  an  historian  and  a  statesman,  when  treating  of  this 
epoch :  "  The  time  had  now  come  when  good  and  evil,  sal- 
vation and  peril,  were  so  obscurely  confounded  and  inter- 
mixed, that  the  firmest  minds,  incapable  of  disentangling 
them,  had  become  mere  instruments  in  the  hand  of  Provi- 
dence, who  alternately  chastises  kings  by  their  people,  and 
people  by  their  kings."* 

But  why  should  we  endeavor  to  blacken  the  character  of 
those  whom  God  has  employed  in  His  work  ?  Is  it  improper 
in  this  instance,  more  than  on  other  occasions,  to  entertain 
respect  for  those  minds  whicli  remain  sincere,  even  when  they 
are  misguided,  and  are  doing  what  they  believe  to  be  right, 
and  to  be  the  will  of  the  King  of  kings  ? 

From  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century  England 
was  on  a  steep  declivity,  which  she  seemed  inevitably  doomed 
to  descend,  and  be  carried  by  it  into  the  gulf  of  Popery.  The 
blood  of  the  Stuarts  was  mingled  with  the  blood  of  the  Guises. 
What  the  Bourbons  were  effecting  in  France,  the  sons  and 
descendants  of  Queen  Mary,  older  veterans  than  they  in  Ro- 
man ftmaticism,  considered  themselves  called  upon  to  accom- 
plish on  a  larger  scale  on  the  other  side  of  the  Channel.  Of 
a  truth  these  unfortunate  princes  cannot  all  be  placed  in  the 
same  rank ;  but  there  is  risible  in  them  a  constant  progres- 
•  Guizot,  Hist.  (]«  la  Revolution  d'Angleterre,  i.  278. 


KNfKODUCTlON.  16 

sion  towards  the  Church  of  Rome.  Charles  I.  (1625)  is  more 
averse  from  tlie  Word  of  God,  and  more  incUned  to  tradition 
and  hierarchy  than  James  I.  (1603);  Charles  II.  (1660)  more 
so  than  Charles  I. ;  and  James  the  Second  surpasses  all  his 
predecessors.  This  progression  has  all  the  strictness  of  a 
mathematical  law. 

The  despotic  counter-revolution  attempted  by  the  two  last 
Stuarts  demonstrates  the  necessity  of  the  democratic  revolu- 
tion which  it  pretended  to  combat.  It  plainly  showed  that, 
ill  the  eighteen  years  between  1642  and  1660,  the  English 
nation  had  not  risen  up  against  mere  phantoms.  Charles  II. 
— who,  as  his  mother  Henrietta  Maria  declared  to  Louis 
XIV.,  "  had  abjured  the  heresy  of  his  education,  and  was 
reconciled  to  the  Church  of  Rome;"* — Charles  II.  compos- 
ing a  treatise  to  prove  that  there  could  be  but  one  Church 
i>f  Christ  upon  earth,  and  that  that  was  the  Church  of  Rome  ; 
— Charles  II.  acknowledjjing;  to  his  brother,  the  Duke  of 
York,  that  he  also  was  attracted  to  the  mother-church ; — 
Charles  II.  sounding  his  ministers  on  their  intentions  with  re- 
gard to  Popery,  and  prepared  to  follow  the  duke's  advice  by 
a  plain  and  public  declaration  of  Romanism,  if  he  had  not 
been  checked  by  the  prudent  counsel  of  Louis  XIV. ; — 
Charles  II.  refusing  on  his  death-bed  the  sacrament  from  the 
Protestant  bishop  of  Bath — replying  to  his  brother,  who  pro- 
posed in  a  whisper  to  send  him  a  Romish  priest,  "  Do  so,  for 
the  love  of  God !" — confessing  to  tlie  missionary  Iluddlc- 
stone,  declaring  his  wish  to  become  reconciled  to  the  Roman 
Church,  and  receiving  from  him  absolution,  the  host,  and 
even  extreme  unction ; — these  most  assuredly  were  not  phan- 
toms. 

James  II.,  his  successor,  declaring  to  the  French  ambassa- 
dor, immediately  after  his  accession,  that  the  English  were 
unconsciously  Roman  Catholics,  and  that  it  would  be  easy  to 

•  See  a  letter  from  Pcll,  English  minister  in  Switzerland,  to  Secretary 
Thurloe,  dated  8  May,  1656,  in  Dr.  Vaughan's  Protectorate,  i.  409, 
London,  1839. 


16  INTRODUCTION. 

induce  them  to  make  a  public  declaration ; — James  II.  hear- 
ing mass  in  the  Queen's  chapel  with  open  doors  on  the  first 
Sunday  of  his  reign ; — James  II.,  in  contemptuous  defiance 
of  the  laws,  filling  his  army  witli  Roman  Catholic  officers ; 
and  when  Protestant  clergymen  went  over  to  the  Church  of 
Rome,  giving  them  dispensations  to  continue  in  the  receipt  of 
their  stipends,  and  even  in  the  administration  of  their  cures ; 
— a  great  number  of  Roman  churches  rising,  even  in  the  me- 
tropolis ; — a  Jesuit  school  opened  Avithout  any  attempt  at 
concealment ; — Roman  Catholic  peers  admitted  into  the  privy 
council,  and  along  with  them  Fatlier  Petre,  a  covetous  and 
fanatical  Jesuit,  who  possessed  his  most  intimate  confidence ; 
— Roman  Catholic  bishops  in  full  activity  in  England  ; — Mag- 
dalen College,  Oxford,  receiving  a  popish  president ; — seven 
Anglican  bishops  who  had  protested  against  these  encroach- 
ments, conveyed  to  the  Tower  through  crowds  of  people  who 
fell  on  their  knees  as  they  passed,  and  who,  when  these  pa- 
triots were  acquitted  by  the  juiy,  lighted  up  bonfires  in  every 
part  of  the  city,  and  burnt  the  pope  in  effigy ; — William  of 
Orange,  landing  on  the  coast  of  Devonshire,  on  the  5th  of 
November,  1688,  with  the  English  flag  waving  at  the  mast- 
head of  his  ships,  and  bearing  this  inscription  :  The  Pkotes- 
TANT  Religion  and  Liberties  of  England  ; — James  II. 
next  seeking  an  asylum  at  St.  GeiToain  en  Laye,  where  he 
met  Avith  a  magnificent  reception  from  Louis,  the  persecutor 
of  the  Protestants,  and  where  the  two  monarchs  remained 
some  minutes  in  each  other's  embrace,  amidst  a  crowd  of 
courtiers  astonished  at  the  sight  of  this  foreign  prince,  who, 

as  they  said,  "  had  given  three  kingdoms  for  a  mass" 

these  are  facts  of  History, — facts  which  tell  us  what  Avas  to 
be  expected  of  the  Stuarts, — facts  Avhich  show  that  the  evil 
against  which  England  revolted  in  the  seventeenth  century- 
was  not  mere  imagination. 

If,  during  the  eighteen  years  of  the  Revolution,  the  evan- 
gelical faith  and  Protestant  spirit  had  not  been  reanimated 
and  greatly  strengthened,  England  would  not  have  been  able 


iNTiionrcTinx.  1 1 

to  resist  the  invasions  of  the  Papacy  under  James  the  Second. 
It  was  the  Revohxtion  which  began  in  1642,  j-ather  than  the 
Dutcli  prince,  that  overthrew  that  King.  The  extirpation  of 
Popery  required  an  ingens  aliqnod  ct  prcesens  remediinn,  as 
Erasmus  said  of  the  work  of  the  Reformation  in  the  si.xteenth 
century — "  a  physician  wlio  cuts  deep  into  the  flesh,  or  else 
the  malady  would  be  incurable."*  There  is  not  in  England 
a  single  royalist  or  episcopalian,  who,  if  he  is  a  Protestant, 
and  at  the  same  time  a  good  citizen,  can  fail  to  acknowledge 
the  necessity  of  the  violent  remedy  then  applied  to  the  dis- 
ease that  was  destroying  Great  Britain.  And  if  the  revela- 
tions of  history  show  us  that  the  men  of  those  times  were 
more  sincere,  more  pious,  and  even  more  moderate  than  is 
usually  believed,  it  is  the  duty  of  every  friend  of  justice  not 
to  close  his  eyes  against  this  new  light.  AVe  may  be  de- 
ceived, but,  in  our  feeble  judgment,  the  address  in  Avhich  the 
peers  of  England  thanked  the  Prince  of  Orange,  in  Decem- 
ber, 1688,  for  having  delivered  the  country  "from  slavery 
(/ml  Popery,"  might  have  been  presented  by  the  nation  to  the 
authors  of  the  Revolution  of  1642,  with  more  propriety  than 
to  William  the  Third. 

In  studying  the  life  of  Cromwell,  the  reader  will  undoubt- 
edly have  frequent  reason  to  bear  in  mind  the  raying  of  holy 
Scripture,  In  many  things  we  offend  all.  He  interfered  vio- 
lently in  public  affairs,  and  disturbed  the  constitutional  order 
( 'f  the  state.  This  was  his  fault, — a  fault  that  saved  his  country. 
With  the  documents  before  us  which  have  been  published  at 
various  times,  we  are  compelled,  unless  we  shut  our  eyes  to 
the  truth,  to  change  our  opinion  of  him,  and  to  acknowlodij." 
I  hat  the  character  hitherto  attached  to  this  great  man  is  mw. 
of  the  grossest  falsehoods  in  all  histoiy.  Charles  11.,  who 
succeeded  him  after  Richard's  short  protectorate  ;  this  mon- 
irch's  courtiers,  not  less  immoral,  but  still  more  prepossessed 
than  himself;  the  writers  and  stattsmen  too  of  this  epoch, — 
all  of  thorn  united  in  misrepresenting  his  memnrv.  The 
*   Snying  of  F.rnHtHua  on  I.iilhrr 


18  INTRODUCTION. 

wicked  followers  of  the  Stuarts  have  blackened  Cromwell's 
reputation.  Protestantism  was  on  its  trial.  There  can  be 
no  doubt  that  the  principles  of  civil  liberty,  which  the  family 
of  James  .the  First  desired  to  crush,  but  which  eventually 
triumphed  in  the  English  nation,  and  which  have  raised  it  to 
sucli  an  elevation,  had  a  great  share  in  this  struggle  ;  and  no 
one  man  did  more  than  Oliver  towards  their  development. 
But  the  principal  thing  Avhich  drew  doAvn  the  anger  of  his 
enemies  was  Protestantism,  in  its  boldest  not  less  than  its 
clearest  form  ;  and  the  false  imputation  borne  by  this  emi- 
nent man  was  essentially  the  work  of  Popery.  In  the  seven- 
teentli  century,  when  the  Protestant  princes  were  everywhere 
intimidated,  weakened,  and  dumb,  and  when  some  of  fhem 
were  making  ready  for  a  fatal  apostasy,  Cromwell  was  the 
only  one  to  declare  himself  in  the  face  of  all  Europe  the  pro- 
tector of  the  true  faith.  He  even  induced  Cardinal  Mazarin, 
a  prince  of  the  Romish  Church,  to  connive  at  his  generous 
designs.  This  is  a  crime  for  which  he  has  never  been  par- 
doned, and  for  which  his  enemies  have  inflicted  a  scandalous 
'  revenge.  In  this  task  so  much  perseverance  and  skill  have 
been  employed,  that  not  only  enlightened  Catholics,  but  even 
Protestants  themselves  have  been  deceived.  We  feel  no  in- 
clination to  adopt  the  hatred  and  the  calumnies  of  Rome,  and 
we  sympathize  with  Protestantism  wherever  it  is  to  be  found. 
This  will  not  lead  us  to  extenuate  the  faults  of  those  who 
have  been  its  supporters ;  but  their  defects  will  not  shut  our 
eyes  to  their  good  qualities.  In  the  struggle  between  Prot- 
estantism and  Popery,  which  took  place  in  the  British  isles 
in  Cromwell's  time,  the  noblest  part  indisputably  belongs  to 
the  former ;  and  the  mistakes  of  its  adherents  are  unimpor- 
tant compared  with  the  excessive  immorality  and  the  fright- 
ful cruelties  of  which  the  friends  of  Rome  were  guilty. 

The  erroneous  traditions  of  which  we  have  spoken  have 
spread  everywhere,  and  have  been  adopted  by  France,  that 
ancient  ally  of  the  Stuarts.  But  CromweWs  Letters  and 
Speeches,  which  have  been  recently  piibli.^hod  by  ^fr.  Thomas 


INTIIODLCTION'.  10 

Uarlyle,  and  even  some  older  works,  such  as  the  Memoirs  of 
the  Protector  and  his  Sorts,  Illustrated  by  Family  Papers 
(18-20),  Oliver  Cromwell  and  his  Times  (1821),  and  Dr. 
Vauglian's  Protectorate  (1839),  ought  to  produce  some  sen- 
Bation  on  the  Continent.  Mr.  Carlyle  complains  of  the  errors 
rif  most  of  the  writers  who  have  preceded  him,  and  with  ref- 

■  lence  to  two  of  the  ablest  he  speaks  as  follows:  "Our 
French  friends  ought  to  be  informed  that  M.  Villemain's  book 
on  Cromwell  is,  unluckily,  a  rather  ignorant  and  shallow  one. 

—Of  M.  Guizot,  on  the  other  hand,  we  are  to  say  that  his 
two  volumes,  so  far  as  they  go,  are  the  fruit  of  real  ability 
and  solid  study  applied  to  those  tran.sactions."*  Although 
we  agree  in  the  homage  paid  by  Mr.  Carlyle  to  the  most  pro- 
found of  our  historians,  we  think  that  M.  Guizot's  Cromwell 
ought  also  to  be  recast;  and  that  the  idea  of  the  Protector 
given  by  this  great  writer,  not  only  in  his  History  of  the  Eng- 
lish Revolution,  but  also  in  a  more  recent  work,  his  Essay  on 

Washinyton,  is  contrary  to  reality.  M.  Guizot  is  a  native  of 
2sismes,  and  on  this  ground  alone  there  are  reasons  why  he 
should  be,  to  say  the  Icfist,  impartial  towards  Cromwell.  But 
he  is  now  so  busily  engaged  as  one  of  the  actors  of  contem- 
poraneous annals,  that  it  will  be  long  before  we  shall  dare 
ill  upon  him  to  complete  that  other  history,  which  has  be- 

■  ome  one  of  the  masterpieces  of  the  French  language.  With 
icgard  to  M.  Viilemain,  it  is  desirable  that  he  should  de- 
vote his  leisure,  his  impartiality,  and  his  great  talents  in  re- 
constructing a  work  by  which  he  has  made  himself  known 
with  great  advantage  to  the  friends  of  literature.  I  will  not 
-peak  of  Viscount  Chateaubriftnd's  work  on  the  Four  Stu- 
'■'/■ts  :  it  is  characterized  by  the  great  talent  of  the  first  writer 
of  our  age,  and  often  by  an  honorable  frankness  ;  but  not  less 
by  the  prepossessions  and  prejudices  of  the  author  of  Buona- 
parte  and  the  Bourbons.  Tlie  imperfect  work  now  submitted 
to  the  reader  has  no  pretensions  to  be  a  more  perfect  biog- 
raphy of  the  Protector :  its  sole  aim  is  to  indicate,  especially 

♦  Cromwpll'a  I.fltcrs  nnd  Speeches,  i.  23(!;  2(1  edit.,  I.ond.  1846. 


20  INTRODUCTIOX. 

to  continental  Protestants,  tliat  it  is  a  page  of  history  which 
ought  to  be  written  anew. 

My  first  idea  was  simply  to  publish  in  French  some  of 
Cromwell's  most  Christian  letters,  with  a  mnning  commen- 
tary on  the  whole.  But  I  have  gradually  been  led  farther 
than  I  originally  intended.  I  asked  myself,  what  is  the 
worth  of  all  the  fine  phrases  used  by  this  great  ruler,  if  they 
are  contradicted  by  facts  ?  In  consequence  of  this  I  was 
compelled  to  take  his  actions  also  into  account,  to  weigh 
them  impartially,  to  distinguish  between  good  and  evil,  and 
above  all  to  examine  deeply  into  his  mind  in  order  to  find 
out  the  law, — a  law  that  easily  escapes  the  observation  of 
the  inattentive  eye, — which,  by  an  invisible  bond,  unites 
great  errors  with  great  piety.  I  have  endeavored  to  ascer- 
tain his  character  as  a  whole :  it  was  mj  wish  to  reconstruct 
an  entire  existence,  and  not  offer  merely  a  few  fragments  and 
startling  contradictions  of  his  life.  The  majority  of  histori- 
ans, indeed,  have  also  sought  for  this  unity,  and  have  easily 
discovered  it :  according  to  their  views,  it  is  found  in  his  deep 
hypocrisy.  But  the  documents  now  before  us  are  a  striking- 
contradiction  to  this  hypothesis ;  and  no  writer  Avho  possesses 
the  smallest  portion  of  good  faith,  will  ever  venture  to  put  it 
forward  again.  There  is  no  man  in  history  who  has  a  better 
title  than  Cromwell  to  say  with  Saint  Paul : — as  deceivers 
and  yet  true.  We  must  therefore  seek  for  some  other  ex- 
planation. To  this  task  I  applied  myself;  and  in  the  chap- 
ter on  the  death  of  the  king  I  have  more  fully  set  forth  the 
result  of  my  inquiries. 

Of  the  authors  who  have  treated  of  Cromwell,  some  jus- 
tify not  only  his  principles,  but  even  the  worst  of  his  actions  : 
this  is  going  too  far.  Others,  on  the  contraiy,  censure  not 
only  all  his  acts,  but  his  character :  and  in  this  they  commit 
a  serious  injustice.  These  are  summary  ways  of  rendering  a 
man's  life  consistent.  By  adopting  such  methods  the  histo- 
rian's task  is  soon  ended ;  but  I  could  not  have  recourse  to 
them.     I  was  compelled  to  blame  some  of  i\w  fictions  of  this 


IKTHODUCTIOM.  21 

gi-eat  man,  and  to  rescue  his  Christian  morality.  Thi.s  I  have 
done.  The  solution  I  have  given  seems  to  me  to  be  correct : 
i  do  not  know  whether  it  will  produce  the  same  effect  on 
oiiiers. 

May  I  be  allowed  to  direct  attention  to  a  circumstance  of 
which  I  had  not  thought  when  I  began  this  Avork,  but  which 
may  in  some  measure  be  its  justification  ?  Cromwell,  during 
the  season  of  his  power,  was  really  the  Protector  of  Euro- 
pean, and,  in  particular,  of  French  Protestantism.  As  I  am 
myself  descended  from  Huguenot  refugees,  it  seemed  to  me 
that  I  had  a  debt  to  pay  to  this  illustrious  man.  Tliere  were, 
perhaps,  some  of  my  forefathers  among  those  inhabitants  of 
Nismes,  whom  the  powerful  intervention  of  the  English  chief 
rescued  from  the  vengeance  of  the  soldiers  of  Louis  XIV.,  al- 
ready marching  against  that  city  to  execute  the  orders  of  the 
court  to  the  last  extremity.*  "  Nobody  can  wonder,"  said 
Clarendon,  a  man  who,  it  is  well  known,  had  no  great  love 
for  the  Protector,  and  who  wrote  shortly  after  the  event, 
"  that  Cromwell's  memoiy  still  remains  in  those  parts  and 
with  those  people  in  great  veneration."  Gratitude  is  a  debt 
that  no  lapse  of  time  should  cancel.  I  hope  that  no  person, 
in  the  nineteenth  century,  will  feel  that  wonder  from  which 
the  prime  minister  of  Charles  II.  was  exempt :  and  what  he 
considered  very  natural  then,  in  the  midst  of  party  feelings, 
\s\\\   d'lubtlcss  1)"  (liDiiLrht  so  still  li\'  an  uiiinipassidncd  ijos- 

1  lie  \  iiKiicaiioii,  or  I'aiiit.'i"   liic    rfsloi-iaicn.  di    liif    i'rotcc- 

tor's  memor}-,  has  already  begun ;  and  perhaps  no  one  can 
do  more  for  it  than  Mr.  Carlyle  has  accomplished.  I  think, 
however,  that  there  is  room  for  some  improvement.  Oliver 
has  been  presented  as  a  hero  to  the  world  ;  I  present  him  as 
a  Christian  to  Christians — to  Protestant  Christians ;  and  I 
claim  boldly  on  his  behalf  the  |jenefit  of  that  passage  of 
Scripture :    Every  one  that  loveth  God  that  begat,  loveth  him 

•  One  of  the  AulhorV  ancrstors  quitted  Ni«mc«  afrw  y»a«  aAer  Crom- 
well's intervention,  and  found  a  refuge  at  Geneva. 


^ 


INTRODUCTION. 


also  that  in  begotten  of  Him.  Although  these  pages  will  bear 
no  comparison  with  the  work  of  the  writer  I  have  just 
)iamed,  they  may,  notwithstanding,  advance  the  same  object 
in  some  degree,  particularly  when  considered  under  a  reli- 
gious point  of  view.  Others,  I  hope,  will  hereafter  throw  a 
still  greater  light  on  one  of  the  most  astonishing  problems 
lliat  time  has  handed  down  to  us.  It  is  only  gradually  and 
by  slow  degi-ees  that  darkness  is  scattered  in  history,  as  well 
as  in  the  natural  world. 

I  am  well  aware  that  the  task  I  have  undertaken  is  a  diffi- 
cult one.  We  have  so  deeply  imbibed  in  our  early  youth  the 
falsehoods  maintained  by  the  Stuart  party,  and  by  some  of 
Cromwell's  republican  rivals — among  others  the  narrow- 
minded  Ludlow  and  the  prejudiced  Holies — that  these  false- 
hoods have  become  in  our  eyes  indisputable  truths.  I  know 
it  by  my  own  experience,  by  the  lengthened  resistance  I 
made  to  the  light  that  has  recently  sprung  up,  and  illuminated, 
as  with  a  new  day,  the  obscure  image  of  one  of  the  greatest 
men  of  modem  times.  It  was  only  after  deep  consideration 
that  I  submitted  to  the  evidence  of  irresistible  facts. 

I  have  no  desire  to  write  a  literary  work,  but  to  perform 
an  act  of  justice.  I  do  not  forget  the  maxim  of  pagan  an- 
tiquity, that  we  should  render  to  every  person  his  due  ;  I  feel 
that  among  all  the  good  things  a  man  may  possess,  there  is 
one  which,  according  to  the  saying  of  the  wisest  of  Eastern 
kings,  surpasses  all  the  rest,  a  good  nam.e  is  better  than  joty- 
cious  ointment ;  and  above  all,  I  remember,  that  if  a  Chris- 
tian ought  to  confess  the  Lord  upon  earth  in  order  that  he 
may  be  one  day  confessed  before  the  angels  in  heaven,  it  is 
also  his  duty  to  confess  the  disciples  of  the  Lord,  particularly 
when  they  are  disowned,  calumniated,  and  despised  by  the 
multitude.  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  inasmuch  as  ye  have  done 
it  unto  one  of  the  least  of  jhese  my  hrethren,  ye  have  done  it 
unto  me. 


CHAPTER   I, 


CROMWELL  S  rRIVATK  LIFE. 

ffiidency  of  llic  Stuarts — The  Protestant  Interest — Letter  from  a  CoHn- 
I ly  Gentleman— A  Family  on  the  Banks  of  the  Ousc — The  Earl  of 
I'.ssex — Ohver — His  Birth  and  Parentage — A  Hunting  Match — ^Jamea 
(. — OUver  at  the  University,  and  in  London — His  Jlorality — His  Mar- 
riage— His  Conversion — His  Connections — Pleasantry — Charles  I. — 
His  Marriage,  and  the  Twelve  Capuchin  Friars —Influence  of  the 
Queen — Oliver's  Conscientiousness. 

The  Tudors,  and  particularly  Elizabeth,  had  exalted  Eng- 
land by  maintaining  the  cause  of  the  Reformation ;  but  subse- 
quently to  the  year  1603,  and  especially  after  1G25,  the  Stu- 
;irts,  and  principally  Charles  the  First,  had  Aveakened  it  by 
inclining  anew  towards  Catholicism.  Not  only  did  they  de- 
sert their  stations  as  the  chiefs  of  European  Protestantism  ; 
not  only  did  they  cease  to  withstand  fanatic  Spjiin ;  but  a 
Romish  princess,  Henrietta  of  France,  was  placed  upon  the 
throne.  That,  however,  was  of  little  moment :  another  power 
tiian  theirs  prevented  this  mighty  country  from  being  placed 
by  its  monarchs  under  the  yoke  of  the  Italian  pontiff.  The 
people  no  longer  walked  with  their  princes.  The  cause  of 
the  Reformation  was  dear  to  them  ;  and  they  Avere  ready  to 
abandon  their  Kings  rather  than  tiie  Gospel.  This  unhappy 
family,  by  wishing  to  6xalt  a  traditional  power  in  the  Church, 
destroyed  their  own.  While  the  monarchical  authority  was 
iiicrciising  everywhere  on  the  Continent,  it  gradually  declined 
in  England  ;  and  a  new  force,  the  Commons,  the  middle 
'■l;isscs,  daily  ac(|iiiiiil  cuM'cr  siiniK-ili   IIIhtiv  .  nnd  cimriit'e. 


l-r 


24  CROMWELL  S    I'KIVATE    LIFE. 


The  ancient  charters  of  England  contained  extensive  guar- 
antees in  favor  of  the  national  independency.  But  these  in- 
stitutions had  long  been,  as  it  were,  dead  and  neglected  ;  yet 
they  still  existed,  and  the  skeleton,  so  long  motionless,  was 
about  to  be  reanimated  with  anew  life.  If  England  had  been 
a  nation  devoted  merely  to  secvdar  policy,  these  charters 
might  forever  have  remained  little  better  than  old  parch- 
ments ;  but  a  new  motive  power — evangelical  faith  and  the 
interest  of  Protestantism — was  about  to  revivify  these  great 
institutions,  and,  by  saving  England  from  the  abyss  towai'ds 
which  the  Stuarts  were  rapidly  hurrying  it,  nwse  it  erelong 
to  the  highest  degree  of  influence  and  glory. 

This  evangelical  spirit  possessed  great  strength  among  the 
P^nglish  people :  godly  families,  lovers  of  the  Bible  and  of 
liberty,  peopled  its  cities  and  its  fields.  The  following  let- 
ter, written  by  a  country  gentleman,  the  father  of  a  numer- 
itus  family,  may  reasonably  be  considered  one  of  the  many 
symptoms  of  that  christian  life,  which,  in  that  age  as  in  all 
others,  alone  possessed  sufficient  strength  to  withstand  the 
encroachments  of  Popery  : — 

"  To  my  beloved  Cousin,  Mrs.  St.  John,  at  Sir  William  Ma- 
sham  hi^  house  called  Otes,  in  Essex :  Present  tliese. 

"Ely,  13th  October,  1638. 
"  DfiAR  Cousix, 

"  I  thankfully  acknowledge  your  love  in  your 
kind  remembrance  of  me  upon  this  opportunity.  Alas,  you 
do  too  highly  prize  my  lines  and  my  company.  I  may  be 
ashamed  to  own  your  expressions,  considering  how  unprofi- 
table I  am,  and  the  mean  improvement  of  my  talent. 

"  Yet  to  honor  my  God,  by  declaring  Avhat  He  hath  done 
for  my  soul,  in  this  I  am  confident,  and  I  will  be  so.  Truly, 
then,  this  I  find :  that  He  giveth  springs  in  a  dry  barren  wil- 
derness where  no  water  is.  I  live,  you  know  where, — in 
Meshec,  which  they  say  signifies  Prolonging  _;  in  Kedar, 
which  signifies  Blackness  :  yet  the  Lord  forsaketh  me  not. 


CROMWF.LL  S    rRIVATK    LIFK.  26 

Though  He  do  prolong,  yet  He  will,  I  tnist,  bring  me  to  His 
tabernacle,  to  His  resting-place.  My  soul  is  with  the  con- 
gregation of  the  First-bom,  my  body  rests  in  hope :  and  if 
here  I  may  honor  ray  God  either  by  doing  or  by  suftering,  I 
shall  be  most  glad. 

"  Ti-uly  no  poor  creature  hath  more  cause  to  put  himself 
forth  in  the  cause  of  his  God  than  I.  I  have  had  plentiful 
irdges  beforehand  ;  and  I  am  sure  I  shall  never  earn  the  least 
mite.  The  Lord  accept  me  in  His  Son,  and  give  me  to  walk 
in  the  light, — and  give  us  to  walk  in  the  light,  as  He  is  the 
light !  Heit  is  that  enlighteneth  our  blackness,  our  darkness. 
I  dare  not  say.  He  hideth  His  face  from  me.  He  giveth  me 
to  see  light  in  His  light.  One  beam  in  a  dark  place  hath 
exceeding  much  refreshment  in  it : — blessed  be  His  Name  for 
shining  upon  so  dark  a  heart  as  mine  !  You  know  what  my 
manner  of  life  hath  been.  Oh,  I  lived  in  and  loved  dark- 
ness, and  hated  light ;  I  was  a  chief,  the  chief  of  sinners. 
This  is  true :  I  hated  godliness,  yet  God  had  mercy  on  me. 
O  the  riches  of  His  mercy !  Praise  Him  for  me  ; — pray  for 
me,  that  He  who  hath  begun  a  good  work  would  perfect  it 
in  the  day  of  Christ. 

"  Salute  all  my  friends  in  that  Family  whereof  you  are  yet  a 
member.  I  am  much  bound  unto  them  for  their  love.  I 
l)less  the  Lord  for  them ;  and  that  my  son,  by  their  procure- 
ment, is  so  well.  Let  him  have  your  prayers,  your  counsel ; 
let  me  have  them. 

"  Salute  your  Husband  and  Sister  from  me : — He  is  not  a 
man  of  his  word  !  He  promised  to  write  about  Mr.  Wrath, 
of  Epping  ;  but  as  yet  I  receive  no  letters  • — put  him  in 
mind  to  do  what  with  conveniency  may  be  done  for  the  poor 
cousin  I  did  solicit  him  about. 

"  Once  more  farewell.  The  Lord  be  with  you  :  so  prayetli, 
"  Yuur  truly  loving  cousin." 

We  must  suy  a  few  words  on  the  individuals  mentioned  in 
this  letter. 


26  ckomwell's  pkivate  life. 

Along  the  banks  of  the  Ouse,  near  Huntingdon,  lay  a  wide 
extent  of  fertile  pasture-lands,  bathed  by  the  melancholy 
waters  of  that  river,  and  broken  here  and  there  by  little 
wood-covered  heights.  Towards  the  south,  as  you  approach 
from  Cambridge,  stood  an  aged  oak  :  Querculus  anilis  erat* 
Over  those  meadows  a  little  boy  frequently  disported,  and 
perhaps  climbed  the  stately  oak-tree  in  quest  of  bird-nests. 
His  parents,  who  were  descended  from  an  old  and  popular 
Saxon  family,  which  does  not  appear  to  have  mingled  with 
the  Norman  race,  lived  in  a  house  at  the  northern  extremity 
of  Huntingdon.  The  old  mansion  exists  no  longer :  a  solid 
yellow  brick  building  occupies  its  place. 

The  origin  of  the  family  was  this.  The  Earl  of  Essex, 
vicar-genoral  under  Henry  VHI.,  had  a  nephew  named  Rich- 
ard, who  had  been  veiy  active  in  the  great  work  accom- 
plished by  his  uncle,  namely,  the  suppression  of  monasteries. 
In  this  business  he  had  acquired  a  considerable  fortune.  The 
sale  of  church  property  and  the  division  of  the  ecclesiastical 
estates  were  among  the  causes  that  had  enriched  the  middle 
classes  of  England,  and  had  made  them  sensible  of  their 
strength. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  seventeenth  centuiy,  five 
grandsons  of  this  Sir  Richard  were  alive  in  England,  all  sons 
of  Henry  called  "the  Golden  Knight,"  These  were  Sir  Ol- 
iver, Henry,  Richard,  Sir  PhiHp,  and  Robert.  This  last  had 
married  Elizabeth  Steward,  who,  say  the  genealogists,  was 
descended  from  the  royal  family  of  Scotland,  from  one  Wal- 
ter Steward,  namely,  who  had  accompanied  Prince  James  of 
Scotland  into  England  in  the  time  of  Henry  IV.,  and  there 
settled. 

On  the  25th  of  April,  1599,  while  Shakspeare  was  yet 
alive,  and  in  the  latter  years  of  the  reign  of  Queen  Ehzabeth, 
at  a  time  when  England  already  began  to  feel  a  presentiment 
of  the  greatness  to  which  she  would  be  called  by  her  resist- 
ance to  Rome,  the  wife  of  Robert  Cromwell  bore  to  him  a 

♦  BarnabtE  Itinerarium,  quoted  by  Garlyle,  i.  33. 


Cromwell's  private  life.  21 

child,  who  was  to  do  more  than  any  of  his  contemporaries  in 
accelerating  this  glorious  destiny.  He  was  named  Oliver, 
and  was  christened  on  the  29th  of  the  same  month.  This  is 
the  little  boy  of  whom  we  have  already  spoken.  This  family 
possessed  certain  lands  round  Huntingdon,  producing  a  rev- 
enue of  about  £300  a  year,  equivalent  perhaps  to  £1000  of 
our  present  money.  It  was  the  same  OUver  then  thirty-nine 
years  of  age,  who  wrote  the  letter  we  have  given  above. 
Mrs.  St.  John,  to  whom  it  is  addressed,  was  the  wife  of  a  cel- 
ebrated barrister,  and  then  on  a  visit  at  the  house  of  Sir 
William  Masham,  a  zealous  puritan,  and  also  a  busy  man  in 
the  politics  of  his  time.  The  Golden  Knight's  eldest  son, 
Sir  Oliver,  uncle  to  our  hero,  was  as  expensive  a  man  as  his 
father,  and  dwelt  in  a  stately  mansion  at  Hinchinbrook,  on 
the  left  bank  of  the  Ouse,  half  a  mile  west  of  Huntingdon. 

It  has  been  denied,  both  in  France  and  England,  that  the 
Protector  was  related  to  the  powerful  minister  of  Henry  VIII. ; 
])ut  without  other  foundation  than  the  impatient  answer  he 
returned  to  a  fiiwning  bishop,  Avho  reminded  liim  of  this 
jolationship.  The  malleus  monachorum,  the  mauler  of 
monasteries,  as  the  Eiirl  of  Essex  was  denominated,  was  great 
uncle  to  that  Oliver,  who  proved  a  still  more  potent  "mauler" 
than  his  ancestor :  one  Morgan  WilUams  having  married  the 
vicar-general's  sister,  whose  eldest  son  Richard  took  the  name 
of  Cromwell.  There  are  still  in  existence  two  letters  from 
tliis  Sir  Richard  Cromwell,  Oliver's  great-grandfather,  ad- 
dressed to  the  Earl  of  Essex,  in  both  of  which  he  signs  him- 
self, your  most  hounden  nephew*  We  must  therefore  class 
this  denial  with  all  those  other  falsehoods  with  which  Crom- 
well's histor)'  has  hitherto  been  overloaded  ;  such  as  the  pro- 
phetic spectres  that  appeared  to  him  in  his  childhood,  his 
Michard  robbing,  and  liis  tyrannous  combats  with  the  boys 
<>{  the  neighborhood.  These  are  stories  "grounded  on  hu- 
man stupidity,"  says  his  latest  biographer,  "  to  which  we 
must  give  christian  burial  once  for  all."  Unfortunately  it  is 
•  Carlyl»''»  Cromwell,  i.  39. 


'4k  J 


28  Cromwell's  private  life. 


^ 


not  only  by  such  unimportant  circumstances  that  falsehood 
has  obscured  the  real  Hfe  of  Cromwell. 

Oliver  was  four  years  old,  when  the  shouts  of  a  magnifi- 
cent hunting  party  re-echoed  along  the  banks  of  the  Ouse. 
On  the  afternoon  of  Wednesday,  the  23d  of  April,  1603,  a 
royal  train, — hounds,  horses,  and  cavaliers — approached  the 
green  lawns  and  winding  avenues  of  elder  and  willow  trees 
that  led  to  the  manor-house.  King  James,  son  of  the  un- 
happy Mary  Stuart,  was  coming  from  the  north  to  take  pos- 
session of  the  English  crown.  Elizabeth,  the  last  of  the  Tu- 
dors,  after  raising  England  to  the  first  place  among  the  nations, 
had  been  dead  little  more  than  a  month,  having  with  her 
latest  breath  named  her  cousin  of  Scotland  as  her  successor. 
On  his  way  to  London  the  king  was  to  lodge  at  Hinchinbrook, 
the  stately  mansion  of  Oliver's  \mcle,  where  preparations 
were  made  to  receive  him  in  the  most  sumptuous  manner. 
James  came  hunting  all  the  way  :  and  he  appeared  at  last, 
possessing  none  of  his  mother's  graces.  He  was  of  middle 
stature,  and  wore  a  thickly  wadded  dagger-proof  doublet. 
He  alighted  in  the  court-yard,  but  his  legs  were  too  weak  to 
carry  his  body,  and  he  needed  support  to  enable  him  to  walk. 
He  was  almost  seven  years  of  age  before  he  began  to  iiin 
alone.  He  took  his  seat  at  the  table  of  the  Golden  Knight : 
he  drank  with  difficulty,  and  it  seemed  as  if  he  masticated 
what  he  drank.  On  the  other  hand,  he  made  a  great  show  of 
learning,  and  his  conversation  was  fvdl  of  theological  apoph- 
thegms and  political  maxims,  which  he  delivered  in  the  most 
pedantic  fashion. 

This  royal  visit  to  Hinchinbrook  House  must  have  been  a 
great  treat  for  little  Oliver.  He  was  an  active  and  resolute 
boy ;  but  his  quarrel  and  battle  with  young  Prince  Charles, 
then  Duke  of  York,  is  probably  a  fable.  The  king  arrived 
on  "Wednesday,  and  set  off  again  on  Friday ;  Sir  Oliver  giving 
him  costly  presents  at  his  departure.  Knights  were  created 
in  the  great  hall,  and  among  the  number  was  the  Protector's 
paternal  uncle,  and  in  the  next  year  Thomas  Steward  of  Ely, 


"       ■■    ■  '4:--  ,    .       '  ^ 


ckomwkll's  private  i.u<k.  29 

liis  maternal  uncle.  The  king  moved  on  towards  London, 
although  he  had  been  informed  that  the  plague  Avas  raging  in 
that  city:  a  circumstance  which  vexed  him  exceedingly  ;  as  he 
was  deficient  in  courage.  But  the  crown  of  England  awaited 
him  there,  and  this  rendered  him  superior  to  fear. 

Amid  such  scenes  as  these  young  Oliver  grew  up  to  man- 
hood, in  the  bosom  of  an  austere  family,  and  at  a  time 
when  the  north  seemed  preparing  for  a  struggle  against  the 
south, — Great  Britain  and  Scandinavia  against  Rome  and 
Spain.  The  intrigues  of  the  Jesuits ;  the  tendency  of  the 
Anglican  party,  which  was  ere  long  to  muster  under  the  ban- 
rior  of  Laud ;  the  rights  and  the  power  of  the  Word  of  God 
— these  were  the  engrossing  subjects  of  thought  and  conver- 
sation in  the  midst  of  which  the  child  increased  in  strength 
in  this  rural  solitude. 

In  1G16,  Oliver,  at  the  age  of  seventeen  quitted  the  banks 
I  if  the  Ouse  and  the  home  of  his  boyhood,  for  the  university 
I  if  Cambridge,  about  fifteen  miles  from  Huntinfjdon.  On 
tiiis  important  occasion  it  is  most  likely  that  he  was  accom- 
panied by  his  father.  He  was  entered  at  Sidney  Sussex  Col- 
lege on  the  festival  of  the  Annunciation.  Cromwell,  it  is  true, 
never  had  any  pretensions  to  learning ;  but  he  was  far  from 
being  so  deficient  in  this  respect  as  has  been  represented, 
lie  possessed  a  familiar  acquaintance  with  the  historians  of 
Greece  and  Rome ;  and  on  one  occasion  in  particular  he  con- 
versed in  Latin  with  a  foreign  ambassador.  In  June,  1G17, 
when  only  eighteen  years  old,  he  lost  his  father.  In  the 
:  anie  year  died  his  grandfather  Steward  at  Ely ;  and  his 
mother  saw  herself  at  once  fatherless  and  a  widow,  left  with 
six  daughters  and  an  only  son.  Oliver  returned  no  more  to 
Cambridge,  but  took  his  father's  place  at  Huntingdon.  A 
few  months  after,  he  proceeded  to  Lfindon  to  gain  some 
knowledge  of  law.  | 

The  stories  that  he  led  a  dissolute  life  in  the  capital  or 
elsewhere  are  exaggerated,  or  rather  without  any  basib  in 
truth.     They  are  principally  founded,  so  far  as  we  can  see, 

;]* 


30  CROMWELL  S    PRIVATE    LIFE. 

on  that  portion  of  his  letter  to  Mrs.  St.  John,  in  Avhioh  he 
calls  himself  the  chief  of  sinners.  This  merely  shows  how 
ignorant  his  accusers  are  of  true  religion.  Every  Christian, 
even  the  most  moral  man,  is  ready  to  declare  himself  with 
Saint  Paul,  the  chief  of  sinners.  Oliver's  greatest  enemies 
have  not  been  able  to  reproach  him  with  any  notorious  vice, 
Welwood  acknowledges  that  he  was  not  addicted  to  profane 
swearing,  gluttony,  drunkenness,  gaming,  avarice,  or  the  love 
of  women.  In  later  times  he  distributed  in  one  year  £40,000 
from  his  own  purse  to  charitable  uses. 

Among  the  famiUes  that  he  visited  in  London  was  Sir 
James  Bourchier's.  This  gentleman  had  a  daughter,  Eliza- 
beth, to  whom,  on  the  22d  of  August,  1620,  though  only 
twenty-one  years  of  age,  Oliver  was  married  at  Saint  Giles's 
Church,  Cripplegate.  He  immediately  returned  with  his 
wife  to  Huntingdon,  and  settled  down  in  the  mansion  of  his 
fathers. 

The  next  ten  years  were  passed  in  seclusion — years  in  which 
a  man  is  formed  for  life.  Cromwell  busied  himself  in  farming, 
and  in  industrial  and  social  duties  ;  living  as  his  father  before 
him  had  lived.  But  he  was  also  occupied  with  other  matters. 
Ere  long  he  felt  in  his  heart  the  prickings  of  God's  law.  It 
disclosed  to  him  his  inward  sin ;  with  St.  Paul,  he  was  dis- 
posed to  cry  out :  0  wretched  man  that  I  am  !  who  shall  de- 
liver me  from  the  body  of  this  death?  and  like  Luther  pacing 
the  galleries  of  his  convent  at  Erfurth,  exclaiming,  "  My  sin ! 
my  sin  !  my  sin  !"  Oliver,  agitated  and  heart-wnmg,  utter- 
ing groans  and  cries  as  of  a  wounded  spirit,  wandered  pale 
and  dejected  along  the  gloomy  banks  of  the  Ouse,  beneath  a 
clouded  sky.  He  looked  for  consolation  to  God,  to  his  Bible, 
and  to  friends  more  enlightened  than  himself.  His  health 
and  even  his  strong  frame  were  shaken ;  and  in  his  melan- 
choly he  would  often  send  at  midnight  for  Dr.  Simcott,  phy- 
sician in  Huntingdon,  supposing  himself  to  be  dying.  At 
length  peace  entered  into  his  soul.  "  It  is  therefore  in  these 
years,"  says  Mr.  Carlyle,  "that  we  must  place  what  Oliver, 


CROMWELLs   1'Kivatl;   life.  31 

with  unspeakable  joy,  would  name  his  Conversion — his  de- 
liverance from  the  jaws  of  Eternal  Death.     Certainly  a  grand 

epoch  for  a  man :  properly  the  one  epoch He  was 

henceforth  a  Christian  man,"  continues  his  biographer,  "  not 
on  Sundays  only,  but  on  all  days,  in  all  places,  and  in  all 
cases."* 

Cromwell  now  zealously  attended  the  Puritan  ministry, 
and  chose  his  friends  from  among  the  gentry  and  nobility  of 
his  neighborhood  who  held  the  same  opinions.  He  became 
intimate  with  Hampden,  Pyni,  Lord  Brook,  Lord  Say,  and 
Lord  Montague.  Almost  all  the  serious  thought  of  England 
was  then  Puritan.  In  the  midst  of  them  all  was  Oliver, 
modest,  devout,  conscientious,  and  seriously  intent  "  to  make 
his  calling  and  election  sure." 

His  intercourse  with  his  friends  was  full  of  cordiality.  He 
has  been  reproached  with  a  fondness  for  buffoonery ;  but  we 
must  recollect  that  such  a  characteristic  trait  is  often  found 
in  the  most  christian  and  truly  serious  men.  It  is  a  weak- 
ness that  is  thrown  off  with  difficulty.  Many  sallies  and 
jests  imputed  to  him  have  been  grossly  exaggerated,  and 
made  grievous  charges  against  liis  piety.  We  must  condemn 
all  ill-timed  levity ;  but  we  should  also  remember  that  no 
prince,  descended  from  the  blood  of  kings,  ever  showed  him- 
self more  jealous  of  his  dignity,  on  great  occasions,  than  the 
Protector  did.  From  his  early  youth  he  possessed  true  se- 
riousness. He  fervently  devoted  himself  to  works  of  chris- 
tian piety.  "  Building  of  hospitals,"  wrote  he  to  his  friend, 
Mr.  Storie,  in  January,  1636,  "provides  for  men's  bodies ;  to 
build  material  temples  is  judged  a  work  of  piety  ;  but  they 
that  procure  spiritual  food,  thoy  that  build  up  spiritual  tem- 
ples, they  are  the  men  truly  charitable,  truly  pious."f 

I  .ettprs  and  Spccchc*,  I.  68. 
t  Cnrlyli"  s  t  rornwcil,  i.  IH), — In  the  orifjinal  this  Inicr  is  (i;iicil,  Jan- 
uary, 1635,  but  the  reiidcr  will  licar  in  mind  that  the  Knijlish  yrnr  in  those 
tinips  did  not  hrjjin  until  thp  2.'ith  of  Mnrch,  which  wns  Nrw-ypnr's  day  ; 
this  rustom  obtaiiird  in  F.npland  until  I75'2.     In  all  cttaea  we  give  the 


32  Cromwell's  private  life. 

An  important  work,  as  we  have  seen,  was  finished  in  Oli- 
ver during  the  nine  or  ten  years  of  obscurity  and  seclusion 
that  intervened  between  his  marriage  and  his  obtaining  a  seat 
in  parliament.  Milton,  who  knew  him  well,  says  of  him  : 
"  He  had  grown  up  in  peace  and  privacy  at  home,  silently 
cherishing  in  his  heart  a  confidence  in  God,  and  a  magna- 
nimity well  adapted  for  the  solemn  times  that  were  approach- 
ing.* Although  of  ripe  years,  he  had  not  yet  stepped  for- 
ward into  public  life,  and  nothing  so  much  distinguished 
him  from  all  around  as  the  cultivation  of  a  pure  religion,  and 
the  integrity  of  his  life."f 

Oliver  was  henceforth  a  Christian  in  earnest.  He  had 
been  called  by  God  to  the  knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ :  his 
mind  had  been  enlightened  and  his  heart  renewed  by  the  Di- 
vine Word.  To  this  call  from  on  high,  this  great  call  from 
God,  which  so  many  souls  despise,  or  at  least  neglect,  he  had 
replied  from  the  depths  of  his  heart,  and  had  laid  hold  of  the 
grace  presented  to  him,  with  a  new  and  unalterable  will.  He 
had  believed  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  in  the  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ :  he  had  been  delivered  from  the  penalty  of  sin,  and 
from  the  dominion  of  evil.  A  new  birth  had  given  him  a 
new  life.  He  was  at  peace  with  God  :  he  possessed  the 
spirit  of  adoption,  and  an  easy  access  to  the  throne  of  Grace. 
From  that  time  he  became  a  man  of  prayer,  and  so  he  re- 
mained for  the  rest  of  his  life.  He  lived  and  he  died  in 
prayer.  It  was  not  he  who  had  loved  God  first :  he  had 
been  loved  by  Him,  and  had  believed  in  this  love.  He  had 
not  acted  like  those  who,  enchanted  by  the  world,  always 
defer  the  moment  of  their  conversion,  and  thus  become  guilty 
of  the  greatest  sin  and  the  greatest  folly. 

year  according  to  the  7iew  style,  to  prevent  confusion.  Thus,  the  last 
three  months  of  1635,  old  style,  will  be  the  first  three  of  I63G,  new  style. 
*  Doini  in  occulto  creverat,  et  ad  summa  quaeque  tempora  fiduciam  Deo 
fretam  et  ingentem  animum  tacito  pectore  aluerat.  Defensio  Secunda. 
106  Hagffi,  1654. 

t  Religionis  cultu  purioris  et  integritate  vitae  cognitus.     Ibid. 


Cromwell's  private  life.  33 

Rusticus  expectat  dum  dcfluat  amnis,  at  ille 
Labitur  et  labetur  iii  omne  volubilis  aevum. 

In  regard  to  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  he  had  learnt  that  it  is 
the  violent  w1u>  take  it  by  force  ;  and  with  the  whole  energy 
of  his  soul,  regenerated  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  he  had  seized 
upon  it.  Oliver  was  now  a  real  Christian  :  he  remained  one 
to  his  latest  breath ;  and,  if  we  except  a  few  moments  of 
trouble,  to  which  the  most  godly  men  are  subject,  he  perse- 
vered in  faith  and  confidence  till  his  course  of  mortality  was 
completed. 

Events  were  now  becoming  more  serious  every  day,  and 
thick  clouds  were  already  gathering  over  the  people  and  the 
throne. 

The  accession  of  Charles  I.  had  been  hailed  with  pleasure. 
His  morals  were  virtuous ;  and  what  might  not  the  nation 
hope  from  a  prince  only  twenty-five  years  old  ?  But  when 
the  king  gave  England  a  papist  queen  in  the  person  of  Hen- 
rietta of  France,  the  affection  that  had  been  entertained  to- 
wards him  immediately  cooled.  Nor  was  it  without  a  cause. 
In  the  marriage-contract,  drawn  up  under  the  eyes  of  the 
Pope,  there  were  several  clauses  favorable  to  the  Romish 
faith.  Henrietta  arrived  in  London,  fortified  by  the  instruc- 
tions of  Mother  Magdalen  of  St.  Joseph,  a  Carmelite  nun, 
and  under  the  direction  of  Father  Berulli,  accompanied  by 
twelve  priests  of  the  Congregation  of  the  Oratory.  These 
having  been  sent  back  to  France,  were  soon  replaced  by 
twelve  Capuchin  friars.  Henrietta,  a  worthy  pupil  of  her  na- 
tive court,  wished  at  first  to  make  everything  bend  to  her  re- 
ligion and  her  humor  ;  and  her  followers  desired  to  celebrate 
their  worship  in  all  its  splendor.  The  queen  had  even  a  lik- 
ing for  intrigue ;  and  it  was  soon  seen  that  the  blood  which 
flowed  in  her  veins  was  that  of  the  Medici.  It  was  more 
jiarticularly  after  the  death  of  Buckingham,  (23rd  August, 
IG'J8,)  that  she  wished  to  take  advantage  of  her  husband's 
iifiection  to  enable  her  to  domineer  over  the  country,  and 


34  Cromwell's  private  life. 

that  the  most  zealous  Roman- catholics,  admitted  into  the 
queen's  cabinet,  sought  there  the  power  they  required  for  the 
accomplishment  of  their  designs. 

At  the  time  when  Popery  was  thus  reappearing  at  the 
court  of  England,  the  Gospel  was  flourishing  in  the  house  of 
Oliver,  who  was  occupied  with  his  flocks  and  fields,  his  chil- 
dren, the  interests  of  his  neighbors,  and  above  all  in  putting 
into  practice  the  commandments  of  God.  Salvation  was 
come  to  his  house,  and  his  light  shone  before  men.  He  pos- 
sessed great  delicacy  of  conscience,  and  of  this  we  shall 
give  one  instance  which  occurred  a  little  later.  After  his 
conversion  to  God,  he  remembered  what  Zaccheus  said  to 
Jesus,  as  He  went  into  his  house :  Behold,  Lord,  if  I  have 
taken  anything  from  any  man  by  false  accusation,  I  restore 
him  fourfold.  Cromwell  had  taken  nothing  in  that  way ;  but, 
like  other  men  of  the  world,  he  had  won  some  money  for- 
merly in  gambling.  This  he  returned,  rightly  considering  it 
would  be  sinful  to  retain  it.  Tlie  sums  were  large  for  those 
days;  one  of  them  being  £80,  and  the  other  £120.  His 
means  were  not  ample,  his  family  had  increased ;  but  such 
things  had  no  weight  with  him.  His  religion  was  one  not  of 
words  but  of  works.  As  soon  as  his  conscience  spoke,  he 
acted  on  its  suggestions,  however  great  the  sacrifice  he  Avas 
compelled  to  make.  He  remembered  Christ's  remark,  and 
acted  on  it  during  his  whole  life :  Not  every  one  that  saith 
unto  me.  Lord,  Lord,  shall  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven  ; 
but  he  that  doeth  the  will  of  my  Father,  which  is  in  heaven. 


CHAPTER    II. 
Cromwell's  parliamentary  life. 

Cromwell's  Election  and  first  Appearance  in  Parliament — His  Portrait — 
Tonnage  and  Poundage— Struggle  in  Parliament — Dissolution — John 
Hamixlen's  Refusal — Absolutism  and  Popery  installed — Evangelical 
Ministers — Persecutions:  Leighton,  Prj'nne,  Bastwick,  Burton — Scot- 
land and  the  Covenant — New  Parliament — Strafford — Charles's  Insin- 
cerity— Irish  Massacre — Remonstrance — Militia  Bill — Cavaliers  and 
Round-heads— Charge  against  Five  Members — R"  '  Mjing  of  the  Rev- 
olution— Cromwell  and  his  sons  become  Soldiers — Necessity — Hamp- 
den's Opinion  of  Cromwell. 

On  the  29th  of  January,  1628,  writs  were  issued  for  a  new 
ParHament,  in  which,  on  the  17th  of  March,  Cromwell  took 
his  seat  as  member  for  Huntingdon.  His  father  also,  in  earlier 
years,  had  been  returned  for  the  same  town.  After  a  proroga- 
tion of  three  months,  the  legislature  assembled  again  on  the 
20th  of  January,  1629.  On  the  11th  of  February,  the  House 
of  Commons  resolved  itself  into  a  grand  Committee  of  Relig- 
ion, in  which  one  of  the  new  members,  Oliver,  then  thirty  years 
of  age,  rose  to  speak  for  the  first  time.  All  eyes  were  turned 
upon  him,  and  the  House  listened  to  him  with  attention.  He 
wore  a  plain  cloth  suit,  which  seemed  to  have  been  made  by  a 
bad  country  tailor ;  his  linen  was  not  of  the  purest  white  ;  his 
ruHles  were  old-fashioned ;  his  hat  was  without  a  band  ;  his 
Bword  stuck  close  to  his  side  ;  his  countenance  was  swollen  and 
reddish  ;  his  voice  sharp  and  untunable  :  but  his  delivery  was 
warm  and  animat<^d  ;  his  frame,  although  exceeding  the  mid- 
dle height,  strong  and  well-proportioned  ;  he  had  a  manl)' 
iiir,  a  bright  and  sparkling  eye,  and  stern  look.* 

•  Memoirs  of  Sir  Philip  Warwick,  247,  London,  1701. 


36  Cromwell's  parliamentary  life. 

Certain  ecclesiastics  were  then  gaining  notoriety  by  theii 
zeal  in  forwarding,  within  the  pale  of  the  Church,  the  power 
of  the  king  and  the  doctrines  of  Rome,  Cromwell  com- 
plained that  the  bishops  permitted  and  even  recommended 
the  preaching  of  "flat  Popery."  "If  these  are  the  steps  to 
church  preferment,"  exclaimed  he,  "  what  are  we  to  expect !" 
—  What  are  we  to  expect?  .  .  .  asked  Oliver;  and  this  was 
in  truth  the  great  question  of  the  age.  Tlae  re-establishment 
of  Popery  was  the  object  of  the  seventeenth  century,  and 
Cromwell's  first  public  words  were  against  it.  He  then  set 
up  the  landmark  which  determined  and  marked  out  the  course 
he  had  resolved  to  follow  until  his  death.  Even  Hume,  gen- 
erally so  hostile  to  him,  is  struck  by  seeing  his  first  words 
correspond  so  exactly  to  his  character.  Cromwell,  indeed, 
Avas  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  his  life  quite  consistent ; 
he  was  faithful  to  the  one  idea,  which  he  proclaimed  upon  the 
housetops.  And  it  is  this  man,  so  decided,  so  open,  who  has 
been  termed  a  hypocrite !  History  was  never  guilty  of  a 
greater  error. 

The  Commons  did  not  for  the  present  stop  at  the  extrava- 
gant doctrines  of  such  semi-papists  as  Mainwaring,  Sibthorp, 
and  Montague,  whom  the  Bishop  of  Winchester  had  taken 
into  favor.  It  was  a  different  question  that  led  to  the  disso- 
lution of  Parliament.  The  king  required  that  they  should 
vote  the  duties  of  tonnage  and  poundage  for  life,  which  the 
Commons  refused.  The  speaker  Finch,  a  courtier,  was  de- 
sirous of  adjourning  the  house  immediately,  according  to  tbe 
orders  of  his  master ;  but  some  of  the  members,  among  whom 
was  Mr.  Holies,  resisted,  and  in  despite  of  his  supplications 
and  tears,  held  him  by  main  force  in  the  chair.  The  king 
sent  orders  to  the  serjeant-at-arms  to  withdraw  with  the 
mace,  which  would  suspend  all  deliberation ;  but  he  also,  like 
the  speaker,  was  kept  in  his  seat.  At  the  same  time  the  keys 
of  the  hall  were  taken  from  him,  and  the  doors  were  locked. 
Shortly  after,  a  knock  was  heard  on  the  outside  :  "  Open," 
said  the  usher  of  the  black  rod  :  "  a  message  from  the  king." 


CKOMU  KLl's    HAi;I.IAMK.\rAin'    LIFE.  37 

It  was  of  no  avail :  the  doors  remained  closed.  Ciiarles  now 
grew  furious,  and  sending  for  the  captain  of  his  guard,  or- 
dered him  to  force  the  door.  But  in  the  meanwhile  the  Com- 
mons had  carried  three  resolutions :  the  first,  against  Armini- 
anism  ;  the  second,  against  Popery.  In  a  portion  of  the  An- 
;,^!ican  clergy  there  was  a  combined  tendency  towards  these 
two  errors,  and  they  are  evils  which  possess  in  truth  a  great 
ri'somblance.  Finally,  by  the  third  resolution,  the  House  de- 
clared the  levying  of  tonnage  and  poundage  illegal,  and  those 
guilty  of  high  treason  who  should  levy  or  even  pay  such 
dues.  When  the  captain  of  the  guard  arrived,  he  found  the 
liall  deserted.  The  House  had  adjourned  in  conformity  with 
the  king's  order.  On  the  10th  of  March,  Charles  went  down 
to  the  Lords  and  dissolved  the  Parliament,  complaining  of 
the  behavior  of  the  Lower  House,  particularly  of  "  certain 
vipers,  who  must  look  for  their  reward."  In  effect,  Holies 
Sir  John  Elliot,  William  Strode,  and  some  others,  were  tineA. 
and  imprisoned.  This  was  the  last  Parliament  in  England 
for  more  than  eleven  years.  Cromwell  returned  to  Hunt- 
ingdon. 

One  of  Oliver's  aunts,  Elissabeth  Cromwell,  had  married 
William  Hampden,  of  Great  Kimble,  in  Buckinghamshire, 
and  was  left  a  widow  with  two  sons,  John  and  Richard. 
John  was  a  quiet  and  amiable  man ;  no  great  talker,  but  a 
good  listener  ;  yet  under  this  moderation  and  simplicity  lay 
concealed  a  will  of  iron  and  a  most  determined  resolution.  It 
was  the  destiny  of  this  individual  to  give  the  signal  of  resist- 
ance to  Charles's  arbitrary  measures.  He  was  called  upon 
for  the  sum  of  twenty  shillings,  his  portion  of  the  rate  which 
the  Commons  had  forbidden  to  be  paid.  He  refused  mod- 
estly, but  firmly,  being  determined  to  try  the  issue  at  law. 
The  judges,  who  would  have  preferred  being  silent,  decided 
against  him  by  a  majority  of  eight  to  four.  But  the  people 
looked  upon  him  as  the  Wctor,  and  he  became  dear  to  all  true 
hearts  in  England.  Thus  it  was  the  family  of  Cromwell  that 
began  the  stniggle  against  ('harlcs, 

4 


38  Cromwell's  parliamentary  life. 

In  1631,  Oliver,  who  had  left  Huntingdon,  settled  at  Saint 
Ives ;  and  it  was  while  busied  with  farming  at  this  place,  that 
he  wrote  the  letter  which  we  have  quoted  above ;  in  which, 
laying  down,  as  it  were,  the  future  course  of  his  life,  he  de- 
clares himself  ready  to  do  and  to  suffer  for  the  cause  of 
God.  It  may  be,  however,  that  the  simple  obedience  to  the 
Word  of  God,  which  should  be  the  essential  characteristic  of 
a  Christian's  practical  life,  does  not  stand  forth  in  it  with  suf- 
ficient clearness,  and  that  in  its  stead  there  is  a  somewhat 
mystic  tendency.  Cromwell  afterwards  became  clearer  and 
more  sober  in  his  views. 

The  agitation  of  England  continued  to  increase.  Charles 
was  endeavoring  to  dispense  with  a  Parliament,  and  to  govern 
his  kingdom  by  drawing  more  or  less  near  to  France  and 
Spain.  His  ministers  drove  him  into  violent  measures,  and 
with  a  view  to  augment  their  strength,  they  soon  formed  an 
alliance  with  an  unsound  prelatism.  Laud,  archbishop  of 
Canterbury  and  primate  of  all  England,  to  whom  Rome  had 
offered  a  cardinal's  hat,  restored  many  of  the  practices  and 
ceremonies  of  Popery.  The  communion  table  was  replaced 
by  an  altar  raised  on  several  steps  at  the  east  end  of  the 
church  ;  the  ci-ucifix,  pictures,  and  tapers  were  restored ;  and 
the  officiating  clergy,  in  gaudy  dresses,  made  genuflexions 
before  the  altar  after  the  Romish  custom. 

The  middle  classes  took  the  alarm.  Associations  were 
formed  for  the  propagation  of  the  Gospel ;  funds  were  raised 
to  send  preachers  into  various  places,  where  it  would  be  their 
duty  not  only  to  proclaim  Jesus  Christ,  but  to  combat  the 
popish  superstitions  under  which  it  was  now  attempted  to 
reduce  the  nation.  The  evangehcal  Christians  of  London, 
among  whom  was  Mr.  Storie,  one  of  Cromwell's  friends,  sup- 
ported Dr.  Wells,  one  of  these  "  lecturers"  at  Saint  Ives.  He 
was  "  a  man  of  goodness  and  industry,  and  ability  to  do  good 
every  way"  (as  Cromwell  writes  to  Mr.  Storie  on  the  11th 
January,  1636),  "not  short  of  any  I  know  in  England." 
Wells's  preachings  and  conversation  advanced  Cromwell  and 


CnOMWKI.I.'fl    PAUl.IAMEKTARY    LirEJ.  89 

his  family  in  tlie  ways  of  true  piety.  "  Since  his  coming,  the 
Lord  hath  by  him  wrought  much  good  among  us,"  adds 
OUver. 

Soon  afterwards,  the  news  of  the  cruel  persecutions  against 
Laud's  adversaries  reached  Saint  Ives.  They  were  placed  in 
the  pillory  (such  was  the  report),  their  ears  were  cut  off,  they 
were  heavily  fined,  and  condemned  to  imprisonment  for  life  ; 
but  they  endured  these  suflFerings  with  indomitable  courage. 
On  one  occasion,  as  the  executioner  was  driving  back  the 
crowd,  the  martyr,  foreseeing  the  evils  that  Charles  would 
bring  upon  his  people,  interfered,  exclaiming,  "Let  them 
come,  and  spare  not,  that  they  may  learn  to  suffer." 

Dr.  Leigh  ton,  father  of  the  celebrated  archbishop  of  that 
name,  for  publishing  "  an  Appeal  to  the  Parliament,  or  Zion's 
Plea  against  Prelacy,"  was  condemned  to  pay  a  fine  of 
£10,000 ;  to  be  set  in  the  pillory  at  Westminster,  and  pub- 
licly whipped ;  to  lose  his  ears,  have  his  nostrils  slit,  and  his 
cheeks  branded  with  the  letters  S.  8. — "  Sower  of  Sedition" 
—a  sentence  that  was  executed  in  all  its  severity. 

Prynne,  a  very  remarkable  man,  was  a  barrister  of  Lin- 
coln's Inn.  The  first  crime  that  he  committed,  and  for  which 
he  lost  his  ears,  was  his  having  published  a  work  entitled 
"  Histriomastix, — the  Player's  Scourge,"  directed  against  all 
stage-plays,  masques,  dances,  and  ma-squerades.  The  king 
and  queen  were  fond  of  masques  and  dances,  and  Henrietta 
of  France  often  won  loud  applause  in  the  court  theatricals. 
Prjnne  was  accordingly  accused  by  Laud  of  sedition.  His 
second  crime  was  a  work  against  the  hierarchy  of  the  Church. 
As  he  had  already  lost  his  ears  by  the  first  sentence,  the 
stumps  on  this  occasion  were  literally  sawed  off.  "  1  had 
thought,"  said  Lord  Chief  Justice  Finch,  feigning  astonish- 
ment, "  that  Mr.  Prj'nne  had  no  cars !" — "  I  hope  your  hon- 
ors will  not  be  offended,"  replied  Prynne ;  "  pray  God  give 
you  ears  to  hear." — OHver's  ear  heard,  and  his  heart  throbbed 
with  emotion. 

As  Dr.  Bastwick  ascended  the  scaffold  on  which  he  was 


40  cromwell'l  parliamentary  life. 

to  suflFer  mutilation,  his  wife  rushed  up  to  him,  and  kissed 
the  ears  he  was  about  to  lose.  Upon  her  husband's  exhort- 
ing her  not  to  be  frightened,  she  made  answer  :  "  Farewell 
my  dearest,  be  of  good  comfort :  I  am  nothing  dismayed." 
The  surrounding  crowd  manifested  their  sympathy  by  loud 
acclamations. 

On  descending  from  the  scaffold  he  drew  from  his  ear  the 
sponge'  soaked  with  his  blood,  and,  holding  it  up  to  the  peo- 
ple, exclaimed  :  "  Blessed  be  my  God,  who  hath  counted  me 
worthy,  and  of  his  mighty  power  hath  enabled  me  to  suffer 
anything  for  his  sake ;  and  as  1  have  now  lost  some  of  my 
blood,  so  I  am  ready  and  willing  to  spill  every  drop  that  is 
in  my  veins  in  this  cause,  for  which  I  now  have  suffered : 
which  is,  for  maintaining  the  truth  of  God,  and  the  honor 
of  my  king  against  popish  usurpations.  Let  God  be  glori- 
fied, and  let  the  king  live  forever."* 

When  Mr.  Burton,  a  puritan  divine,  was  brought  on.  the 
platform,  and  Avas  asked  if  the  pillory  were  not  uneasy  for 
his  neck  and  shoulders,  he  answered  :  "  How  can  Christ's 
yoke  be  uneasy  ?  He  bears  the  heavier  end  of  it,  and  I  the 
lighter  ;  and  if  mine  were  too  heavy,  He  would  bear  that  too. 
Christ  is  a  good  Master,  and  worth  the  suffering  for !  And 
if  the  world  did  but  know  His  goodness,  and  had  tasted  of 
His  sweetness,  all  would  come  and  be  His  servants,  "f 

Such  were  the  acts  of  Charles  I. — acts  that  filled  Oliver's 
soul  with  horror  and  anguish. 

In  Scotland  also  the  evil  had  reached  a  great  height. 
Charles  wished  to  abolish  Presbyterianism  in  that  country, 
and  establish  Laud's  prelacy  in  its  place,  the  sure  way  to 
the  restoration  of  Popery.  On  the  23d  of  July,  1637,  the 
missal  in  disguise  was  to  be  solemnly  installed  in  Saint  Giles's 
kirk  at  Edinburgh.  As  soon  as  the  dean  began  to  read  the 
son-ice,  a  terrible  uproar  broke  out.  The  Scotch  swore  fidel- 
ity to  their  ancient  institutions,  signed  the    Covenant,  and 

*  Prynne's  New  Discovery,  &c.  p.  57. 
t  State  Trials,  iii.  718-752. 


CROMWKLl's    i'ARUAMENTAKY    LIFE.  41 

took  up  arms  in  its  defence.  Their  banners  were  unfolded. 
When  the  Scotch  armies  advanced  against  Charles,  they 
were  marching  against  Rome,  as  Gustavus  Adolphus  was 
proceeding  in  Germany  at  the  head  of  his  warriors,  "  meek 
as  lambs,  terrible  as  hons."  Scotland  was  at  that  time  the 
vanguard  of  Protestantism.  Upon  the  refusal  of  the  Eng- 
lish army  to  fight  against  the  Scots,  the  King  was  compelled 
to  submit  to  a  new  Parliament,  which  met  on  the  llth  of 
April,  1G40,  to  the  unspeakable  joy  of  the  people.  Crom- 
well was  returned  for  Cambridge. 

This  assembly  proceeded  energetically  to  prosecute  the 
authors  of  all  the  miseries  of  the  nation.  On  Monday,  the 
10th  of  May,  1641,  his  majesty  signed  the  death-warrant  of 
his  former  minister,  Strafford,  who  was  beheaded  on  the 
Wednesday  following.  "  Put  not  your  trust  in  princes,  nor 
in  the  sons  of  men,  for  in  them  there  is  no  salvation,"  exclaimed 
the  earl,  raising  his  hands  to  heaven,  when  he  was  told  that 
the  king  had  given  his  assent  to  the  bill  for  his  execution. 
Oliver's  name  does  not  appear  in  the  proceedings. 

In  August  of  the  same  year,  Charles  resolved  to  visit 
Scotland,  and  endeavor  to  gaui  over  its  people,  always  dis- 
tinguished for  their  loyalty.  Here  he  was  observed  to  listen 
attentively  to  the  long  sermons  of  the  Presbyterian  preach- 
ers, and  attend  devoutly  to  their  frequent  prayers  ;  but  it 
was  soon  discovered  that  there  was  a  ravening  wolf  beneath 
the  sheep's  clothing.  They  learnt  that  he  was  secretly  col- 
lecting documents  by  which  he  hoped  to  overthrow  his  ene- 
mies in  both  kingdoms.  He  was  anxious  to  obtain  proofs  of 
the  correspondence  which  had  taken  place  between  the  Eng- 
lish Parliament  and  the  Scotch  Covenanters,  and  thus  pro- 
cure the  condemnation  of  the  leaders  of  both  people,  as  be- 
ing guilty  of  high-treason.  From  that  hour  many  felt  that 
Charles  was  a  man  without  faith,  and  that  an  open  (ip|)()si- 
(ion  could  alone  save  England. 

Of  this  the  leaders  of  the  nation  wore  innif  tirnilv  con- 
vinced by  a  fearful  catastrophe.     In  the  midst  .of  this  agita- 

4* 


42  Cromwell's  parliamentary  life. 

tion  and  mistrust,  on  the  1st  of  November,  1641,  an  alarm- 
ing report  suddenly  reached  London.  The  Irish,  sheltering 
themselves  behind  the  names  of  the  king  and  queen,  holding 
in  one  hand  a  commission  they  pretended  to  have  received 
from  Charles,  and  bearing  fire  and  sword  in  the  other,  were 
ravaging  the  country  with  fearful  desolation.  The  plot,  con- 
trived with  the  greatest  secrecy,  had  broken  out  in  horrible 
massacres.  In  London  and  Edinburgh,  in  town  and  country, 
the  most  distressing  accounts  passed  from  mouth  to  mouth, 
and  terror  filled  the  hearts  of  all  the  Protestants  of  Great 
Biitain. 

Tlie  most  serious  members  of  the  Commons  immediately 
called  for  a  Remonstrance  to  the  King,  as  the  nation  was  at- 
tacked in  all  that  it  held  most  dear.  The  Remonstrance  was 
passed  at  midnight,  of  the  22d  November,  by  a  majority  of 
eleven  votes.  "  Had  it  been  rejected,"  said  Oliver,  as  he 
came  out,  "  I  would  have  sold  everything  I  possess,  and 
never  seen  England  more." 

But  it  was  not  Cromwell  that  was  destined  to  quit  Lon- 
don. On  the  Vth  of  December  a  bill  was  proposed  to  the 
Commons,  that  the  organization  of  the  militia  and  the  nomi- 
nation of  its  officers  should  for  the  future  only  take  place 
with  the  concurrence  of  Parliament.  This  bill  in  some  mea- 
sure undermined  the  royal  power,  and  yet  the  preservation 
of  the  liberty  and  Protestantism  of  England  depended  on  it. 
The  nobility  immediately  hastened  to  London  from  their 
country  seats,  and  rallied  round  the  menaced  throne.  The 
names  of  Cavaliers  and  Roundheads  now  first  began  to  dis- 
tinguish the  two  parties :  the  latter  deriving  their  title  from 
the  shortness  of  their  hair,  which  was  cut  close  about  their 
ears.  Their  violent  contests  perpetually  disturbed  the  peace 
of  the  capital.  At  the  opening  of  the  next  year  all  hearts 
were  disquieted  by  the  anticipation  of  coming  events. 

On  the  3d  of  January,  (1642,)  Charles  began  the  attack 
by  calling  upon  the  Lower  House  to  give  up  to  him  five  of 
its   most  infi,uential  members :    Pym,  Hampden,    Haselrig, 


Cromwell's  parliamentary  life.  43 

Holies,  and  Strode.  On  the  morrow  it  was  announced  that 
the  King  was  advancing  towards  St.  Stephen's,  escorted  by 
tliree  or  four  hundred  armed  men.  At  his  entrance,  the 
whole  house  stood  up  uncovered.  "  Since  I  see  the  birds 
are  flown,"  said  he,  casting  his  eyes  round  on  the  assembly, 
"  I  expect  that  you  will  send  them  to  me ;  otherwise  I  must 
take  my  own  course  to  find  them."  Cries  of  "  Privilege ! 
Privilege  !"  rose  from  several  parts  of  the  house,  as  the  King 
withdrew.  Charles  learnt  soon  after  that  the  people,  the 
militia,  and  even  the  Thames  watermen  were  preparing  to 
bring  back  the  five  members  to  Westminster  in  triumph. 
"  What !"  said  he,  "  do  these  water-rats,  too,  forsake  me  !" 
Of  all  the  population  of  London,  Charles  thought  himself 
most  certain  of  the  affection  of  these  boatmen.  This  device 
having  failed,  the  King  left  Whitehall  on  the  10th  of  Janu- 
ary, 1042. 

Tliis  was  the  beginning  of  the  Revolution  :  the  commence- 
ment of  the  struggle  between  the  Parliament  and  the  King. 
The  ruin  of  the  throne  was  in  this  movement,  and  yet  it  was 
inevitable.  The  maintenance  of  the  liberty  and  religion  of 
England  could  not  be  procured  except  at  this  cost.  It  has 
been  said — and  let  us  ever  bear  it  in  mind^— that  the  English 
Revolution,  by  proclaiming  the  illegality  of  absolute  ])ower, 
did  nothing  new.  It  was  legitimate.  "  If  the  feudal  aris- 
tocracy," says  an  eminent  author,  "  took  part  in  the  develop- 
ment of  nations,  it  was  by  struggling  against  royal  tyranny, 
by  exercising  the  rights  of  resistjmce,  and  by  maintaining  the 
maxims  of  liberty."*  The  commonalty,  the  middle  classes, 
(lid  in  the  seventeenth  centiu-y  what  had  hitherto  been  done 
bv  the  nobles. 

Cromwell  was  now  forty-two  years  old,  and  the  father  of 
six  children  :  Oliver,  Richard,  and  Henry,  Bridget,  Elizabeth, 
and  MaiT-  He  was  living  quietly,  hke  many  other  good  cit- 
izens and  loyal  subjects,  who,  as  well  as  he,  had  never  once 
tliought  of  the  profession  of  arms.  Rut  new  times  called 
•  Ouizot,  Hist,  (le  la  Rev.  d'AnglptiTre  ;  Preface,  p.  xi. 


ft«*       ■'♦Jf 


44  CROMWELL  S    PARLIAMENTARY   LIFK. 

for  new  measures.  Every  day  these  men,  who  felt  the  truest 
affection  for  their  country,  were  disturbed  in  their  homes  at 
London,  or  in  their  more  tranquil  rural  retreats,  by  reports 
of  the  massacre  of  the  Protestants  in  Ireland,  of  the  King's 
connivance  at  it,  of  his  insincerity  and  falsehood,  of  his  pro- 
jects, of  the  punishments  already  inflicted  on  many  of  their 
brethren,  of  the  acknoAvledged  Popery  of  the  Queen,  of  the 
semi-Romanism  of  the  King,  of  the  persecutions  in  Scotland, 
the  daily  banishment  of  the  best  Christians  in  the  kingdom, 
and  by  other  signs  and  events  no  less  alarming. 

When  everything  seemed  to  announce  that  the  Protestants 
of  England  would  ere  long  be  either  trampled  down  by 
Popery  or  massacred  by  the  sword,  these  serious  men  arose, 
and  called  upon  the  King,  through  the  Commons,  not  to  de- 
ceive the  expectations  of  his  subjects.  But  when  they  found 
that  prince,  deaf  to  their  prayers,  raising  troops  to  overawe 
the  ParUament,  and  already  victorious  in  several  encounters, 
they  resolved  in  a  spirit  of  devotedness,  to  save  with  God's 
assistance  their  country  and  their  faith,  by  withdrawing  from 
their  families  and  exposing  their  lives  in  arms. 

Oliver  now  exchanged  his  parliamentary  career  for  another 
that  had  become  more  necessary.  The  Huntingdonshire 
yeoman,  who  had  given  the  Commons  some  proofs  of  his 
eloquence,  was  about  to  astonish  the  army  still  more  by  his 
courage  and  genius.  The  fervent  orator  was  now  to  show 
himself  a  great  general,  and  to  become  one  of  the  greatest 
statesmen  of  modern  times. 

On  the  7th  of  February,  Cromwell  contributed  £300,  a 
large  sum  for  his  small  fortune,  towards  the  salvation  of 
Protestantism  and  of  England.  He  then  joined  the  parlia- 
mentary army  with  his  two  sons,  respectively  twenty  and 
sixteen  years  of  age  ;  and  shortly  after  raised  two  companies 
of  volunteers  at  Cambridge.  The  departure  of  his  sons  Oliver 
and  Richard  must  have  caused  great  sorrow  in  the  peaceful 
abode  of  the  Huntingdon  farmer.  With  difhculty  could  these 
young  men  tear  themselves  from  the  embraces  of  their  mother 


CROMWEM.  S    rAHLIAMENTARY    LIFE.  45 

and  of  their  sisters.  But  the  hour  was  corae,  when  their 
country  called  for  the  greatest  sacrifices.  All  must  now  be 
prepared  either  to  stretch  their  necks  to  the  sword,  or  to  bow 
them  beneath  the  yoke  of  the  Pope.  Cromwell's  domestic 
society  was  a  pleasing  one ;  he  had  a  wife  whom  he  loved 
most  tenderly ;  his  good  mother  was  still  living ;  he  had 
passed  the  age  of  ambition  ;  yet  he  became  a  soldier,  "  You 
have  had  my  money :  I  hope  in  God  I  desire  to  venture  my 
skin.  So  do  mine,"  said  he,  with  noble  simplicity,  on  a  later 
occasion.  For  the  spaCe  of  seventeen  years,  from  this  day 
until  that  of  his  death,  all  his  thoughts,  howevet"  well  or  ill 
conceived,  were  for  ProtesUmtism,  and  for  the  liberty  of  his 
fellow-citizens. 

It  is  from  this  moral  point  ol  view  that  Ave  must  study 
Cromwell;  this  was  his  ruHng  principle;  and  this  alone  ex- 
plains his  whole  life. 

Can  we  look  upon  the  departure  of  the  Huntingdon  volun- 
teer as  an  insignificant  event  ? 

There  was  a  great  work  to  be  accomplished  :  no  less  than 
the  settlement  of  England  upon  its  double  foundations  of 
Protestantism  and  liberty ;  for  on  these  depended  her  future 
destinies. 

Where  was  the  man  to  be  foimd  great  endugh  for  so  im- 
portant a  task  ? 

One  day,  a  member  rose  and  addressed  the  House  in  an 
abrupt  but  warm  tone.  His  appearance  was  anything  but 
courtly,  and  his  dress  did  not  add  to  his  importance.  Lord 
Digby  leant  forward  and  with  astonishment  incjuired  of  Hamp- 
den, the  name  of  the  speaker.  Hampden,  who  was  a  man 
of  excellent  abilities,  and  whom,  said  Baxter,  "  friends  and 
enemies  acknowledged  to  be  the  most  eminent  for  prudence," 
answered  with  a  smile  :  "  That  sloven  whom  you  see  before 
you  hath  no  ornament  in  his  speech  ;  that  sloven,  I  say,  if 
we  should  ever  come  to  a  breach  with  the  King,  (which  God 
forbid  !)  in  such  a  case,  I  say,  that,  sloven  will  be  the  ffreatest 
'iian  in  England." 


»».• 


46  Cromwell's  parliamentary  life. 

The  sloven  was  Oliver  Cromwell.  To  tliose  who  like  his 
cousin  Hampden,  had  enjoyed  the  intimacy  of  his  private 
life,  he  had  already  revealed  the  strength  of  his  will  and  the 
greatness  of  his  genius ;  and  he  was  then  beginning  to  mani- 
fest both  to  the  nation  in  his  parliamentary  life.  Ere  long, 
in  his  military  and  political  career,  he  was  to  make  himself 
known  to  the  world  as  the  greatest  man  of  his  age,  but  at  the 
same  time  as  a  godly  Christian. 


^ 


CHAPTER   III 

SCHISM    BETWEEN    THE    KING    AND    THE    PARLIAMENT. 

Conquest  of  Liberty — Beginning  of  the  War — Cromwell's  Frankness- 
Letter  to  Barnard — Intervention  in  Favor  of  Hapton  Parish — Doubt- 
ful Advantages — Cromwell's  Expedient — Fortune  of  War  changes — 
Cromwell  refuses  to  take  part  in  Disorderly  Living — Death  of  Hamp- 
den— The  two  Parliaments — Battle  of  Marston  Moor — A  Letter  and  an 
Episode — Prudence  and  Compassion — Cromwell's  Military  Character 
—Becomes  the  Real  Chief — Battle  of  Naseby — The  King's  cabinet 
opened — Storming  of  Bristol — Glory  to  God  ! — Christian  Union — Dis- 
cipline— Piety — King  surrenders  to  the  Scots — Ireton — Cromwell's 
Letter  to  his  Daughter  Bridget — King  given  up  to  Parliament — Crom- 
well's Illness — Letter  to  Fairfax — Cromwell  and  his  Soldiers — Unity 
of  Man. 

The  time  had  come  when  one  of  the  noblest  vie  ories  ever 
gained  by  the  human  race,  was  to  be  achieved.  Constitu- 
tional liberty  was  about  to  be  won  for  all  future  ages.  This 
could  not  be  attained  without  a  terrible  struggle — without 
great  sacrifices ;  for  it  is  only  by  such  means,  alas  !  that  so- 
ciety advances.  The  despotism  about  to  be  struck  down 
was  destined  to  furnish  one  distinguished  victim.  "  Charles," 
says  a  royalist  writer,  "  struggled  ineffectually  against  the 
force  of  things  ;  the  age  had  outstripped  him  ;  it  was  not  his 
nation   only,  but  the  whole  human  race,' that  dragged  him 

I'ing ;  he  desired  what  was  no  longer  possible.  The  liberty 
tluit  had  been  won  was  first  to  be  swallowed  up  in  a  military 
despotism  that  deprived  it  of  its  anarchy  ;  but  what  was  taken 
t'lm  the  fathers  was  restored  to  the  children,  and  remained 

-  a  final  result  to  England.* 

*  Le«  Q.uatrc  Stuards,  by  M.de  Chateaubriand.  CEuvrt-B  complete*,  vi. 


-^m 


48  SCHISM    BETWEEN   THE   KINO 

On  the  2 2d  of  August,  1642,  at  six  o'clock  in  the  evening, 
the  King  planted  the  royal  standard  at  Nottingham,  and  for 
mally  called  his  subjects  to  arms  ;  but  the  wind,  which  was 
very  tempestuous,  blew  it  down  the  very  night  it  had  been 
set  up.  At  a  short  distance  from  the  same  place,  the  Earl 
of  Essex  was  organizing  the  parliamentary  army,  in  which 
Cromwell  was  immediately  made  a  captain. 

He  immediately  inspected  his  troop,  and  marked  the  com- 
mencement of  his  military  career  by  that  frankness  which  is 
one  of  the  distinctive  features  of  his  character.  He  was  un- 
willing to  follow  the  tortuous  and  hypocritical  path  of  the 
Parliament — fight  against  the  King  and  pretend  at  the  same 
time  that  they  were  marching  in  his  defence.  It  is  Claren- 
don himself  who  gives  us  this  information.  "  Soldiers,"  said 
he  to  his  company,  "  I  will  not  deceive  you,  nor  make  you 
believe,  as  my  commission  has  it,  that  you  are  going  to  fght 
for  the  King  and  Parliament."*  Cromwell  carried  his  frank- 
ness even  to  rudeness  :  and  this,  rather  than  duplicity,  is  the 
fault  we  detect  in  him.  He  was  determined  to  fight  against 
all  whom  he  found  opposed  to  him,  whoever  they  might  be. 
He  continued,  according  to  Clarendon's  account :  "  If  the 
king  were  in  front  of  me,  I  would  as  soon  shoot  him  as  an- 
other ;  if  your  conscience  will  not  allow  you  to  do  as  much, 
go  and  serve  elsewhere."  These  latter  words  have  been 
doubted  ;  and  in  truth  Clarendon,  or  rather  those  from  whom 
he  derived  the  report,  may  have  easily  exaggerated  what  Ol- 
iver actually  said.  But,  even  if  we  are  to  admit  the  correct- 
ness of  the  report,  we  may  look  upon  it  simply  as  an  energetic 
manner  of  saying :  "  Do  not  be  mistaken :  we  are  fighting 
against  the  king." 

Cromwell  was  not  simply  a  captain :  his  -vigilant  eye  was 
everywhere.  He  knew  how  to  baffle  conspiracies,  and  give 
sound  advice  to  men  whose  sentiments  differed  from  his  own. 
Mr.  Robert  Barnard,  a  gentleman  of  his  acquaintance,  but  a 
bad  Protestant,  was  favorable  to  the  royalists,  and  associated 
•  Clarendon,  Hist.  Rebellion,  book  i. 


AND    THE    PARLIAMENT.  49 

with  those  who  frequented  suspicious  meetings.  Oliver  wrote 
to  him,  on  the  23d  of  January,  1643,  a  letter  of  advice,  in 
which  we  find  another  proof  of  his  frankness : — "  Subtlety 
may  deceive  you ;  integrity  never  will.  With  my  heart  I 
ehall  desire  that  your  judgment  may  alter,  and  your  practice. 
I  come  only  to  hinder  men  from  increasing  the  rent, — from 
doinir  hurt ;  but  not  to  hurt  any  man  :  nor  shall  I  you  ;  I  hope 
you  will  give  me  no  cause.  If  you  do,  I  must  be  pardoned 
what  my  relation  to  the  public  calls  for."*  This  language 
is  full  of  firmness,  and  at  the  same  time  of  true  charity. 

He  particularly  busied  himself  with  the  protection  of  those 
who  were  suffering  for  their  faith.  In  the  county  of  Norfolk, 
the  parishioners  of  Hapton  were  much  oppressed  by  an  indi- 
vidual named  Browne,  for  their  attachment  to  the  Gospel. 
On  their  behalf  Cromwell  wrote  to  Mr.  Thomas  Knyvett,  of 
Ashwellthorpe,  in  the  following  terms  :  "  London,  27th  July, 
1646.  ...  I  am  bold  to  ask  your  favor  on  behalf  of  your 
honest  poor  ncighboi-s  of  Hapton,  who,  as  I  am  informed,  are 
in  some  trouble,  and  are  likely  to  be  put  to  more,  by  one 
Robert  Browne,  your  tenant,  who,  not  well  pleased  with  the 
way  of  these  men,  seeks  tlieir  discjuiet  all  he  may. 

"  Truly  nothing  moves  me  to  desire  this  more  than  the 
pity  I  bear  them  in  respect  of  their  honesties,  and  the  trouble 
I  hear  they  are  likely  to  suffer  for  their  consciences.  And 
howe\'er  the  world  interprets  it,  I  am  not  ashamed  to  solicit  for 
such  as  are  anywhere  under  pressure  of  this  kind  ;  doing  even 
as  I  would  be  done  by.  .  .  .  Sir,  it  will  not  repent  you  to  pro- 
tect these  poor  men  of  Hapton  from  injury  and  oppression."! 

It  was  in  this  manner  that  he  manifested  his  brotherly 
charity, — "  that  charity,  which,"  according  to  Milton,  "  is  the 
strongest  of  all  affections,  whereby  the  faithful,  as  members 
i»f   Christ's  body,  mutually   love  and  assist  each  other."J 

•  Letters  nnil  Speeohes,  Carlyle,  i.  158. 

i  Gentlrmnn's  Majrazine,  1787.     Carlyle's  Cromwell,  i.  269. 

J  Charitiui  fraterna  geu  (-hristiana  e«t  omnium  maxima;  qua  fidples,  u 
membra  Chrinti,  inter  ne  (lili)junt  ntque  atljuvant.  J.  MiltoniH  Doctnna 
Christiana,  eilidit  R.  .Sumner,  p.  4H3. 

6 


JP» 


r     '••^    J  It' 


50  SCHISM    BETWEEN    THE    KINO 

Oliver  had  heard  the  injunction,  Relieve  the  oppressed  (Isaiah 
i.  17;  Jeremiah  xxii.  3);  open  thy  mouth  for  the  dumb  in 
the  cause  of  all  such  as  are  appointed  to  destruction  (Proverbs 
xxxi.  8),  and  earnestly  fulfilled  God's  commandments. 

On  the  23d  of  October,  1642,  the  battle  of  Edgehill  was 
fought,  the  indecisive  result  of  which  filled  London  with 
alarm.  It  was  perhaps  on  this  occasion  that  Cromwell  lost 
his  eldest  son  :  we  shall  see  hereafter  what  were  the  father's 
feelings  under  this  bereavement. 

The  winter  passed  away  quietly :  in  spring  the  war  broke 
out  again,  with  still  doubtful  success.  The  legitimate  resist- 
ance of  the  Parhament  could  only  be  justifievi  and  main- 
tained by  prompt  and  decisive  victories.  Cromwell  immedi- 
ately saw  the  main  cause  of  weakness  in  the  parliamentary 
army,  and  found  a  remedy  for  it.  He  knew  that  to  conquer 
a  strong  moral  force,  there  is  required  another  and  one  still  • 
more  powerful.  Accordingly  he  began  at  the  beginning. 
"  How  can  we  be  otherwise  than  beaten  ?"  said  he  to  Hamp- 
den. "  Your  troops  are  most  of  them  old  decayed  serving- 
men,  and  tapsters,  and  such  kind  of  fellows ;  and  theirs  are 
gentlemen's  sons,  younger  sons,  and  persons  of  quahty.  But 
I  will  remedy  that.  I  will  raise  men  who  will  have  the  fear 
of  God  before  their  eyes,  and  who  will  bring  some  conscience 
to  what  they  do  ;  and  I  promise  you  they  shall  not  be  beaten." 
With  this  design  he  went  through  the  Eastern  Counties,  call- 
ing upon  the  young  freeholders,  with  whose  piety  he  was 
acquainted,  to  take  up  arms  in  the  cause  of  God.  Fourteen 
squadrons  of  zealous  Protestants  were  soon  raised.  It  was 
this  new  element  that  decided  the  destinies  of  the  war  and  of 
England.  From  that  hour  the  course  of  events  was  changed. 
It  was  not  long  before  Cromwell's  moral  and  religious 
character  manifested  itself  in  the  army,  and  especially  so  soon 
as  he  was  surrounded  with  persons  animated  by  the  same 
faith.  Clarendon  informs  us  that  his  conduct  was  in  har- 
mony -with  his  principles.  "  His  strict  and  unsociable  humor" 
— it  is  by  such  terms  that  men  are  often  pleased  unjustly  to 


n 


AND   THE   PARLIAMENT.  51 

designate  that  Christian  spirit  to  which  they  are  strangers — 
"  his  strict  and  unsociable  humor  would  not  allow  him  to 
keep  company  with  the  other  officers  in  their  jollities  and 
excesses,  which,"  adds  Clarendon,  "  often  made  him  ridicu- 
lous and  contemptible."  This  historian  afterwards  informs 
us  that  Oliver,  instead  of  frequenting  these  dissolute  meet- 
ings, passed  his  leisure  hours  in  singing  psalms  with  the  offi- 
cers  and  soldiers  who  participated  in  his  religious  convic- 
tions, and  in  attending  with  them  on  the  preaching  of  the 
Word. 

There  is  nothing  more  chatacteristic  than  the  judgment 
liere  passed  on  Cromwell.  The  illustrious  Clarendon  does 
not  give  it  precisely  as  his  own,  but  he  has  very  much  the 
air  of  agreeing  with  it.  If  Oliver  had  been  a  gambler  and  a 
drunkard  ;  if  he  had  practised  the  perfidious  art  of  seducing 
innocence;  if  he  had  taken  part  in  jollities  and  excesses,  it 
would  have  been  all  very  well :  he  would  have  been  a  good 
Cavalier.  These  are  the  men  whom  the  world  loves,  and  for 
whom  historians  and  romance-writers*  keep  all  their  favor. 
Hut  he  loved  the  assemblings  of  the  saints,  according  to  St. 
Paul's  command.  In  his  hours  of  repose,  he  delighted  to  fol- 
low the  precepts  of  this  apostle  :  Be  not  drunk  with  trine, 
irherein  is  excess  ;  but  be  filled  teith  the  Sjnrit ;  speaking  to 
i/ourselves  in  psalms  and  hymns  and  spiritual  songs,  singiiKj 
and  making  melody  in  your  heart  to  the  Lord.  (Ephes.  a'.  18, 
19.)  From  that  hoiu*  he  was  held  a  contemptible  man,  and 
for  two  hundred  years  all  the  servile,  imitating  race  of  histo- 
rians have  continued  to  repeat  this  absurdity,  not  to  .say  im- 
|)iety.  Contemptible!  says  Clarendon.  It  may  well  be  so: 
l)ut  Cromwell  is  not  the  only  man  who  has  been  undervalued 
lor  avoiding  bad  company,  and  for  not  having  trod  in  the 
way  of  sinners.  David,  Saint  Paul,  and  all  Christian  men 
have  been  contemned  like  him,  and  for  the  same  reasons. 
Hut  it  is  written  in  the  revelations  of  God  :  Woe  unto  them 
that  call  evil  good,  and  good  evil.  (Isaiah  v.  20.)     We  do  not 

♦   Er.  'T    s:i'  W.li...-  v...,fi 


f. 


62  SCHISM    BETWEEN    THE    KING 

think  that  these  false  judgments,  thus  stigmatized  by  the  Di- 
vine Word,  have  ever  been  practised  on  a  larger  scale  than 
in  the  case  of  Cromwell. 

On  the  1 8th  of  June  a  skirmish  of  cavalry  took  place  some 
few  miles  from  Oxford.  One  of  the  parhamentarian  chiefs, 
who  was  usually  in  the  foremost  rank,  was  seen  slowly  quit- 
ting the  field  of  battle  before  the  end  of  the  action :  his  head 
hung  down,  his  hand  was  leaning  on  his  hoi-se's  neck.  "  He 
is  certainly  woimded,"  said  one  of  the  bystanders.  It  was 
Hampden,  Ohver's  cousin.  He  died  on  the  24th  of  the  same 
month,  and  the  sorrowing  people  named  him  the  Father  of  his 
Country.  Who  can  say  what  influence,  had  he  lived,  he  might 
have  exercised  over  the  developments  of  the  Revolution  ? 

Charles,  wishing  to  give  the  appearance  of  legality  to  his 
power,  summoned  the  two  Houses  of  Parliament  to  meet  at 
Oxford,  and  on  the  2 2d  of  January,  1644,  forty-five  Peers 
and  a  hundred  and  eighteen  members  of  the  Commons 
obeyed  his  call.  But  the  Parliament  then  sitting  in  London 
counted  twenty-two  Peers  and  two  hundred  and  eighty  mem- 
bers of  the  Lower  House,  besides  about  one  hundred  more 
who  were  absent  on  the  service  of  the  State.  The  King,  who 
in  conversation  with  his  courtiers,  called  his  Parliament  at 
one  time  a  "  mongrel  Parhament,"  and  at  another,  "cow- 
ardly and  seditious,"  adjourned  it  on  the  16th  of  April. 

In  January,  the  Scots  had  entered  England,  marching 
knee-deep  in  snow.  In  conjunction  with  the  Parliamentary 
troops,  they  commenced  the  siege  of  York,  defended  by  the 
Marquis  of  Newcastle.  Prince  Rupert  flew  to  its  relief ;  and 
on  the  2d  of  July,  1644,  took  place  the  battle  of  Marston 
Moor.  The  conflict  was  bloody,  but  \'ictory  finally  crowned 
the  Parliamentary  army,  owing  to  the  invincible  courage  of 
its  soldiers,  and  particularly  of  Cromwell's  cavalry,  on  whom 
the  name  of  Ironsides  was  conferred  on  the  very  field  of  bat- 
tle. The  enemy  lost  more  than  a  hundred  flags,  which  it  was 
proposed  to  send  to  the  Parliament ;  but  they  were  torn  in 
pieces  by  the  conquerors,  and  bound  as  trophies  round  their 


ANU    THE    !■  ARMAMENT.  53 

arms.  The  King  lost  all  the  north  of  England,  and  the  Queen 
escaped  to  France.  "  If  you  leave  your  place,  you'll  lose  it," 
was  the  message  sent  to  her  a  short  time  before  by  Cardinal 
Richelieu. 

The  following  letter  gives  an  account  of  one  of  the  most 
interesting  episodes  of  this  great  victory  : — 

•'  2'o  my  loviuij  Brother,   Colonel  Valentine  Walton :    These. 

"5th  July,  1644. 
"  Dear  Sir, 

"  It's  our  duty  to  sympathize  in  all  mercies ;  and  to  praise 
the  Lord  together  in  chcistisements  or  trials,  that  so  we  may 
sorroAV  together. 

"  Truly  England  and  the  Church  of  God  hath  had  a  great 
favor  from  the  Lord,  in  this  great  victory  given  unto  us,  such 
as  the  like  never  was  since  this  War  began.  It  had  all  the 
evidences  of  an  abs(jlute  victory  obtained  by  the  Lord's  bless- 
ing upon  the  Godly  Party  principally.  We  never  charged 
but  we  routed  the  enemy.  The  Left  Wing  which  I  com- 
manded, being  our  own  horse,  saving  a  few  Scots  in  our  rear, 
beat  all  the  Prince's  hor.se.  God  made  them  as  stubble  to 
our  swords.  We  charged  their  regiments  of  foot  with  our 
horse,  and  routed  all  we  charged.  The  particulars  I  cannot 
relate  now  ;  but  I  believe,  of  twenty  tliousand  the  Prince  hath 
not  four  thousand  left.     Give  glory,  all  the  glory,  to  God. 

"  Sir,  God  hath  taken  away  your  eldest  son  by  a  cannon- 
shot.  It  brake  his  leg.  We  were  nocessitattid  to  have  it 
cut  off,  whereof  he  died. 

"  Sir,  you  know  my  own  trials  this  way ;  but  the  Lord 
supported  me  in  this,  That  the  Lord  took  him*  into  the  hap- 
piness we  all  pant  for  and  live  for.  There  is  your  precious 
child  full  of  glory,  never  to  know  sin  or  sorrow  any  more, 
lie  was  a  gallant  young  man,  exceedingly  gmcious.  God 
give  you  His  comfort.  Hcfore  his  death  he  was  so  full  of 
comfort,  that  to  Frank  llussel  and  myself  he  could  not  ex- 
♦  Hi«  own  Bon,  Olivor,  who  hiul  been  killwl  not  loni'  i>rf(->rc>. 
6* 


1 


54  SCHISM    BETWEEN    THE    KING 

press  it,  '  It  was  so  great  above  his  pain.'  This  he  said  to 
us.  Indeed  it  was  admii-able.  A  little  after  he  said,  one 
thing  lay  upon  his  spirit.  I  asked  him,  What  that  was.  He 
told  me  it  was.  That  God  had  not  suffered  him  to  be  any- 
more the  executioner  of  His  enemies.  At  his  fall,  his  horse 
being  killed  with  the  bullet,  and,  as  I  am  informed,  three 
horses  more,  I  am  told  he  bid  them  open  to  right  and 
left,  that  he  might  see  the  rogues  run.  Truly  he  was  ex- 
ceedingly beloved  in  the  Army,  of  all  that  knew  him.  But 
few  knew  him ;  for  he  was  a  precious  young  man,  fit  for 
God.  You  have  cause  to  bless  the  Lord.  He  is  a  glorious 
Saint  in  Heaven  ;  wherein  you  ought  exceedingly  to  rejoice. 
Let  this  drink  up  your  sorrow ;  seeing  these  are  not  feigned 
words  to  comfort  you,  but  the  thing  is  so  real  and  undoubted 
a  truth.  You  may  do  all  things  by  the  strength  of  Christ. 
Seek  that,  and  you  shall  easily  bear  your  trial.  Let  this 
public  mercy  to  the  Church  of  God  make  you  to  forget  your 
private  sorrow.  The  Lord  be  your  strength  :  so  prays, 
"  Your  truly  faithful,  and  loving  brother, 

"  Oliver  Cromwell."* 

In  this  kind  manner  he  consoles  a  bereaved  father,  while 
the  smoke  still  covers  the  battle-field.  He  lays  aside  all  the 
engrossing  cares  of  the  general  to  fulfil  the  duties  of  the 
Christian.  This  letter  bears  indubitable  marks  of  a  soldier's 
bluntness,  but  also  of  the  sympathy  of  a  child  of  God.  In 
Oliver  these  two  elements  were  never  far  apart. 

While  Cromwell,  by  his  furious  charges,  was  deciding  the 
battle  of  Marston  Moor,  the  Earl  of  Essex  was  sufFerino- 

o 

great  reverses  in  Cornwall,  and  his  army  was  forced  to  ca- 
pitulate. The  former  rose  as  the  latter  fell :  and  from  the 
very  beginning  of  the  war,  clear-sighted  men  might  have 
been  able  to  foresee  that  he  was  destined  to  be  the  real  leader. 
There  was  no  officer  in  the  army  who  braved  danger  with 
greater  intrepidity.  In  the  very  heat  of  the  action,  he  pre- 
♦  Ellis,  Original  Letters,  (First  Series,)  iii.  299.    Carlyle,  i.  207. 


AND    THE    I'ARLIAMENT.  65 

served  an  admirable  presence  of  mind>  He  led  his  soldiers 
up  to  within  a  few  paces  of  the  enemy,  and  never  allowed 
them  to  fire  until  their  shots  were  sure  to  take  efifect.  "  His 
actions,"  says  Chateaubriand,  "  had  all  the  rapidity  and  the 
efiect  of  lightning."  At  the  same  time  he  maintained  the 
strictest  discipline  in  the  array.  The  troops  under  his  com- 
mand thought  themselves  sure  of  victor)',  and,  in  fact,  he 
never  lost  a  battle.  "  There  was  a  certain  invincibility  in  his 
genius,  like  the  new  ideas  of  which  he  was  the  champion."* 
Milton  furnishes  us  with  the  key  to  Cromwell's  superiority  : 
"  From  his  thorough  exercise  in  the  art  of  self-knowledge, 
he  had  either  exterminated  or  subjugated  his  domestic  foes, 
his  idle  hopes,  his  fears,  and  his  desires.  Having  thus  learnt 
to  engage,  and  subdue,  and  triumph  over  himself,  he  took 
the  field  against  his  outward  ciuniiis,  u  soldii^-  ])i;ictisp(l  in 
ail  the  discipline  of  war."f 

In  1645,  an  ordinance — the  ianious  "  sclt'-dcnying  onii- 
nance" — excluding  all  members  of  Parliament  from  com- 
mands in  the  army,  passed  both  Houses,  and  Cromwell  pre- 
pared to  take  leave  of  his  general,  Fairfax.  But  circum- 
stances, which  seemed  to  proceed  from  the  hand  of  God,  pre- 
vented him.  Hostilities  broke  out  afresh,  and  Oliver  did  not 
think  it  right  at  such  a  moment  to  return  his  sword  into  the 
scabbard.  He  rushed  upon  the  enemy  at  the  head  of  his 
Puritans,  and  everywhere  the  Cavaliers  fled  before  him. 
Fairfax  declared  that  he  could  not  dispense  with  him. 

On  the  14th  of  June  the  decisive  battle  of  Naseby,  so  fatal 
to  the  royalists,  took  place.  The  King  fought  desperately, 
but  lost  his  private  cabinet  of  papers  and  letters,  which  was 
sent  to  London,  where  it  was  carefully  examined  by  the  Par- 
liament. In  it  they  found  the  clearest  proofs  that,  notwith- 
standing his  frequent  denials,  he  was  perpetually  soliciting 
the  aid  of  foreign  princes,  and  that  ho  Imd  inoiistcd  against 

♦  Chatraubrianil,  Lp»  Quatre  Stuanlg. 

f  In  sc  prius  imp'rator,  Bui  victor,  de  so  potissimum  triuiiipharr  didiw- 
r;it.     Miltoiii  Dpfcnnio  Srcujidn,  100.  107. 


56  SCHISM   BETWEEN    THE   KINO 


1 


the  name  of  Parliament  which  he  had  given  to  the  two 
Houses.  These  documents,  which  were  published  under  the 
title  of  "  The  King's  Cabinet  Opened,"  entirely  ruined  Charles 
in  the  minds  of  his  people.  There  is  a  justice  in  heaven 
which  permits  neither  kings  nor  the  humblest  of  their  subjects 
to  live  by  falsehood  and  to  moke  a  mockery  of  oaths.  By 
his  deception  and  perjury,  Charles  had  forfeited  the  respect 
of  many  who  were  desirous  to  maintain  the  dignity  of  tlie 
throne,  and  from  this  period  no  hope  remained. 

Prince  Rupert,  the  King's  nephew,  still  resisted,  and  had 
shut  himself  up  in  Bristol,  which  was  taken  by  assault.  Of 
this  most  important  victory  Cromwell  forwarded  an  account 
to  Parliament,  on  the  14th  of  September,  1645.  We  sup- 
press the  narrative  of  military  transactions,  and  give  only  the 
conclusion  of  the  report,  in  which  we  find  united  the  charac- 
teristics of  a  successful  general  and  of  an  humble  Christian : — 

"  For  the  Honorable  William  Lenthall,  Speaker  of  the  Com- 
mons House  of  Parliament :  These, 

"  I  have  given  you  a  true,  but  not  a  full  accoimt  of  this  great 
business ;  wherein  he  that  runs  may  read.  That  this  is  none 
other  than  the  work  of  God.  He  must  be  a  very  Atheist 
that  doth  not  acknowledge  it. 

"  It  may  be  thought  that  some  praises  are  due  to  those 
gallant  men,  of  whose  valor  so  much  mention  is  made  : — 
their  humble  suit  to  you  and  all  that  have  an  interest  in  this 
blessing,  is,  That  in  the  remembrance  of  God's  praises  they 
be  forgotten.  It's  their  joy  that  they  are  instruments  of 
God's  glory,  and  their  country's  good.  It's  their  honor  that 
God  vouchsafes  to  use  them.  Sir,  they  that  have  been  em- 
ployed in  this  service  know,  that  faith  and  prayer  obtained 
this  city  for  you  :  I  do  not  say  ours  only,  but  of  the  people 
of  God  with  you  and  all  England  over,  who  have  wrestled 
with  God  for  a  blessing  in  this  very  thing.     Our  desires  are 


A^D    HIS    PAKLIAMENT.  81 

that  God  may  be  glorified  by  the  same  spirit  of  faith  by 
which  we  ask  all  our  sufficiency,  and  have  received  it.  It  is 
meet  that  He  have  all  the  praise. 

"Presbyterians,  Independents,  all  have  here  the  same 
spirit  of  faith  and  prayer ;  the  same  presence  and  answer ; 
they  agree  here,  have  no  names  of  difference :  pity  it  is  it 
should  be  otherwise  anywhere  !  All  that  believe  have  the 
real  unity,  which  is  most  glorious ;  because  inward,  and 
spiritual,  in  the  Body  [which  is  the  true  Church],  and  to  the 
Head  [which  is  Jesus  Christ].  For  being  united  in  forms, 
commonly  called  Uniformity,  every  Christian  will,  for  peace- 
sake,  study  and  do,  as  far  as  conscience  will  permit.  And 
for  brethren,  in  things  of  the  mind  we  look  for  no  compul- 
sion, but  that  of  light  and  reason.  In  other  things,  God 
hath  put  the  sword  in  the  Parliament's  hands — for  the  ter- 
ror of  evil-doers,  and  the  praise  of  them  that  do  well.  If 
any  plead  exemption  from  that, — he  knows  not  the  Gospel : 
if  any  would  wring  that  out  of  yoxir  hands,  or  steal  it  from 
you,  under  what  pretence  soever,  I  hope  they  shall  do  it 
without  effect.  That  God  may  maintain  it  in  your  hands, 
and  direct  you  in  the  use  thereof,  is  the  prayer  of 

"  Your  humble  servant, 

"  Oliver  Cromwell."* 

These  are  remarkable  words.  Glory  to  God  in  heaven — 
union  among  the  children  of  God  upon  earth — such  are  the 
General's  two  grand  thoughts.  How  far  superior  he  shows 
himsef  to  the  petty  quarrels  which  then  divided  the  Presby- 
terians and  the  Independents  !  At  the  same  time,  he  distin- 
guishes with  great  precision  between  spiritual  and  temporal 
things.  According  to  his  views,  love  should  prevail  in  the 
one  ;  the  sword,  in  the  other.  Full  of  charity  towards  his 
brethren,  rejecting  every  restraint  upon  religion,  and  pro- 
claiming the  great  principles  of  liberty  of  conscience,  how 
terrible  he  appears  with  the  sword  in  his  hand ! 
♦  Uuuhworth,  vi.  85 ;  Carlyle,  i.  248. 


58  SCHISM   BETWEEK    THE   KIKG 

Oliver  did  not  show  severity  towards  his  enemies  only. 
His  justice  was  inflexible,  even  when  it  called  upon  him  to 
punish  his  own  followers.  After  quitting  Bristol,  he  took 
several  other  strong  places  by  storm,  and  became  renowned 
for  his  sieges.  At  Winchester  some  of  the  captive  enemies 
having  complained  of  being  plundered  contrary  to  the  arti- 
cles of  capitulation,  he  directed  that  the  soldiers  accused  of 
this  disorder  should  be  tried :  six  of  them  were  found  guilty, 
one  of  whom  was  hanged,  and  the  five  others  were  sent  to  the 
royalist  Governor  of  Oxford,  who  returned  them  "  with  an 
acknowledgment  of  the  Lieutenant-general's  nobleness." 

All  who  were  about  him  bore  testimony  to  his  piety.  In 
reference  to  this,  Mr.  Peters  writes  that  he  "  had  spent  much 
time  with  God  in  prayer  the  night  before  the  storming  of 
Basing  House ; — and  seldom  fights  without  some  Text  of 
Scripture  to  support  him.  This  time  he  rested  upon  that 
blessed  Word  of  God  written  in  the  115th  Psalm,  8th  verse. 
They  that  make  them  are  like  unto  them  ;  so  is  every  one  that 
trusteth  in  them.  Which,  with  some  verses  going  before,  was  ' 
now  accomplished."*  Every  day  of  his  hfe  he  retired  to  read 
the  Scriptures  and  to  pray.  Those  who  watched  him  nar- 
rowly relate,  that  after  having  perused  a  chapter  in  the  Bible, 
he  was  wont  to  prostrate  himself  with  his  face  on  the  ground, 
and  with  tears  pour  out  his  soul  before  God.  Who  can 
charge  with  hypocrisy  these  inward  movements  of  a  soul, 
which  pass  all  knowledge  ?  For  what  man  hnoweth  the  things 
of  a  man,  save  the  spirit  of  man  which  is  in  him  ? 

The  King,  who  had  retired  to  Oxford,  left  it  in  disguise  on 
the  2'7th  of  April,  1646.  He  wandered  from  castle  to  castle, 
and  from  one  county  to  another,  until,  not  knowing  what  to 
do,  he  surrendered  to  the  Scots  army  at  Newark. 

One  of  the  most  distinguished  officers  of  the  Parliamentary 
army  was  Colonel  Ireton.     He  had  studied  at  Trinity  Col- 
lege, Oxford,  had  distinguished  himself  in  the  army  by  his 
bravery,  and  had  risen  rapidly.     He  had  long  known  Crom- 
•  Cited  in  Carlyle,  i.  258. 


AND    THE    PARLIAMENT.  69 

well,  and  had  made  the  acqiiaintance  of  his  daughter  Bridget, 
who,  by  her  decision  of  character,  was  more  like  her  father 
than  was  her  younger  sister  Elizabeth,  afterwards  Mrs.  Clay- 
pole.  On  the  15th  of  January,  1646,  Ireton  married  Crom- 
well's daughter.  On  the  25th  of  October,  in  the  same  year, 
her  father  wrote  the  following  letter  to  her,  when  as  yet  she 
did  not  exceed  twenty-two  years  of  age,  touching  some  of  the 
duties  of  the  Christian  life.  It  is  short  and  simple ;  but  per- 
haps no  parent  at  the  head  of  an  army  has  ever  written  one 
more  suitable  and  more  affecting. 

"  For  my  beloved  Daughter,   Bridget  Ire  on,  at    Combury, 
the  OeneraVs  Quarters:   Ti  ^se. 

"  London,  iiSth  October,  1646. 
"  Dear  Daughter, 

"  I  write  not  to  thy  husband  ;  partly  to  avoid  trouble,  for 
one  line  of  mine  begets  many  of  his,  which  I  doubt  makes 
him  sit  up  too  late ;  partly  because  1  am  myself  indisposed 
[i.  e.  not  in  the  moocTl  at  this  time,  having  some  other  con- 
siderations. 

"  Your  friends  at  Ely  are  well :  your  sister  Claypole  is,  I 
trust  in  mercy,  exercised  with  some  perplexed  thoughts.  She 
sees  her  own  vanity  and  carnal  mind  ;  bewailing  it :  she  seeks 
after  (as  I  hope  also)  what  will  satisfy.  And  thus  to  be  a 
seeker  is  to  be  one  of  the  best  sect  next  to  a  finder ;  and  such 
a  one  shall  every  faithful  humble  seeker  be  at  the  end. 
Happy  seeker,  happy  finder. 

Who  ever  tasted  that  the  Lord  is  gracious,  without  some 
sense  of  self,  vanity,  and  badness  ?  Who  ever  tasted  that 
graciousncss  of  His,  and  could  go  less  in  desire  [i.  e.  become 
less  desirous], — less  pressing  after  full  enjoyment  ?  Dear 
Heart,  press  on  ;  let  not  thy  Husband,  let  not  anything  cool 
thy  afi"ections  after  Clirist.  I  hope  he  [thy  husband]  will  be 
an  occasion  to  inflame  them.  That  which  is  best  worthy  of 
love  in  thy  Husband  is  that  of  the  image  of  Christ  he  bears. 


J 


W^' 


60  BCHISM    BETWEEX    TliE    KING 

Look  on  that,  and  love  it  best,  and  all  the  rest  for  that.     I 
pray  for  thee  and  him  ;  do  so  for  me. 

"  My  service  and  dear  affections  to  the  General  and  Gene- 
raless.  I  hear  she  is  very  kind  to  thee  ;  it  adds  to  all  other 
obligations.     I  am 

"  Thy  dfear  Father, 

"  Oliver  Cromwell."* 

Delicacy  of  sentiment,  the  domestic  virtues,  and  paternal 
love,  are  among  the  features  by  which  Cromwell  is  best  char- 
acterized. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  year  1646,  the  Parliament  offered 
the  Scots  army  £400,000  on  condition  of  their  returning  into 
their  own  country.  The  terms  were  accepted,  and  the  King 
thus  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  English  Parliament. 

At  the  beginning  of  1648,  Cromwell  fell  dangerously  ill : 
on  his  recovery  he  wrote  the  following  letter  to  the  com- 
mander-in-chief : — 

"  For  his  Excellency  Sir   Thomas  Fairfax,   General  of  the 
Parliament's  Armies,  at  Windsor  :     These. 

"  London,  7th  March,  1648. 
"  Sir, 
"  It  hath  pleased  God  to  raise  me  out  of  a  dangerous  sick- 
ness ;  and  I  do  most  willingly  acknowledge  that  the  Lord 
hath,  in  this  visitation,  exercised  the  bowels  of  a  father  to- 
wards me.     I  received  in  myself  the  sentence  of  death,  that 
I  might  learn  to  trust  in  Him  that  raiseth  from  the  dead,  and 
have  no  confidence  in  the  flesh.     It's  a  blessed  thing  to  die 
daily.     For  what  is  there  in  this  world  to  be  accounted  of ! 
The  best  men  according  to  the  flesh,  are  things  lighter  than 
vanity.     I  find  this  only  good,  To  love  the  Lord  and  his  poor 
despised  people ;  to  do  for  them,  and  to  be  ready  to  suffer 
with  them : — and  he  that  is  found  worthy  of  this  hath  ob- 
*  IlHrltian  MSS.  No.  6988,  fol.  224;  Carlyle,  i.  277. 


AM)    THE    I'ARUAMENT.  61 

tained  great  favor  from  the  Lord ;  and  he  that  is  established 
in  this  sh.ill  (being  confirmed  to  Christ  and  the  rest  of  the 
Body,  i.  e.  '  the  Church')  participate  in  the  glory  of  a  Resur- 
rection which  will  answer  all. 

"  Sir,  I  must  thankfully  confess  your  favor  in  your  last 
liCtter.  I  see  I  am  not  forgotten ;  and  truly,  to  be  kept  in 
\  our  remembrance  is  very  great  satisfaction  to  me ;  for  I  can 
say  in  the  simplicity  of  my  heart,  I  put  a  high  and  true  value 
upon  your  love, — which  when  I  forget,  I  shall  cease  to  be  a 
grateful  and  an  honest  man. 

"  I  most  humbly  beg  my  service  may  be  presented  to  your 
Lady,  to  whom  1  wish  all  happiness,  and  establishment  in 
the  truth.     Sir,  my  prayers  are  for  you,  as  becomes 
"  Your  Excellency's 

"  Most  humble  servant, 

"  Oliver  Cromwell."* 

This  letter  from  one  general  to  another  characterizes  alike 
the  men  and  their  times. 

Such  was  Oliver  in  the  midst  of  battle.  His  troops,  not 
less  than  their  general,  have  been  the  object  of  bitter  attack 
on  the  part  of  worldly-minded  writers.  This  we  can  under- 
stand :  proofs  are  now  before  us  which  explain  their  conduct. 
Take,  for  instance,  the  manner  in  which  the  orators  of  Exeter 
Hall  are  treated  in  Parliament,  although,  even  in  the  opinion 
of  their  adversaries,  they  are  some  of  the  most  worthy  men 
in  England.  If  soldiers  lead  a  disorderly  and  irreligious  life, 
provided  they  are  brave,  there  are  writers  who  can  never  be 
sufficiently  loud  in  their  praise ;  but  soldiers,  profes.sing 
Christianity,  merit,  according  <<>  tlnir  views,  nothing  l)ut 
blame  and  ridicule. 

Cromwell's  regiment,  after  tli«^   l)iiui<'  ot   Edgehill,  gave 

decided  testimony  of  the  spirit  by  which  it  was  animated. 

Wishing  to  form  what  they  called  "a  gathered  church,"  the 

officers  looked  about  for  a  fitting  pastor,  and  to  the  honor  of 

•  Sloane  MSS.  1519,  fol.  79;  Carlyle,  i.  334. 


^^m^----  m    .  Vjot."  •.''L-'Sfc.  * 


62  SCHISM   BETWEEN   THE    KING 

their  Christian  character  selected  Richard  Baxter,  the  most 
eminent  minister  of  the  seventeenth  century.  The  author  of 
the  Saints'  Rest  was  equally  distinguished  for  his  blameless 
manner  of  life,  his  lively  piety,  and  his  extraordinary  talents. 
Where  can  we  now  find  a  regiment  that  would  invite  such  a 
man  to  take  charge  of  their  spiritual  concerns  ?  Although 
Baxter  was  rather  royalist  and  Episcopalian  in  his  sentiments, 
Cromwell  and  his  followers  looked  only  to  his  faith  and  holy 
life.  He  was  invited  to  Cambridge,  where  Oliver  happened 
then  to  be  quartered,  and  a  call  signed  by  all  the  officers  was 
put  into  his  hands.  Baxter  refused ;  for  which  he  afterwards 
expressed  his  deep  regret.  "These  very  men,"  he  says, 
"  that  then  invited  me  to  be  their  pastor,  were  the  men  that 
afterwards  headed  much  of  the  army,  and  some  of  them  were 
the  forwardest  in  all  our  changes ;  which  made  me  wish  that 
I  had  gone  among  them,  however  it  had  been  interpreted  ; 
for  then  all  the  Jire  was  in  one  spark." 

Oliver  not  only  desired  a  faithful  preacher  for  his  soldiers, 
but  required  them  to  observe  a  Christian  behavior  and  an 
exact  discipline.  In  these  latter  objects  he  succeeded  admi- 
rably. One  of  the  journals  of  the  day,  quoted  by  the  royalist 
Southey  in  his  elegant  little  biography  of  Cromwell,  says  of 
these  troops,  "no  man  swears  but  he  pays  his  twelvepence  ; 
if  he  be  dnmk,  he  is  set  in  the  stocks,  or  worse  ;  if  one  calls 
the  other  round-head,  he  is  cashiered ;  insomuch  that  the 
countries  where  they  come  leap  for  joy  of  them,  and  come 
in  and  join  with  them.  How  happy  were  it,  if  all  the  forces 
were  thus  disciplined !" 

The  piety  generally  prevailing  among  Oliver's  soldiers  has 
been  so  much  ridiculed  for  two  centuries  past,  and  the  public 
opinion  has  been  so  misled  on  this  point,  that  it  will  be  long 
ere  men's  minds  will  be  in  a  condition  to  appreciate  them 
aright.  We,  however,  will  never  consent  to  call  good  evil, 
or  protend  that  men  can  gather  grapes  of  thorns  or  Jigs  of 
thistles.  In  our  views,  the  heart  and  life  form  a  great  and 
profound  harmony.     The  act  cannot  be  good,  unless  the  feel- 


AKD   THE    i'AHLlAMENT.  68 

ing  be  good  also  ;  the  words  cannot  be  true  unless  the  thought 
be  true  likewise.  When  I  meet  with  a  pure  stream,  I  con- 
clude that  it  springs  from  a  clear  fountain.  Man,  thinking, 
speaking,  and  acting,  forms  an  indivisible  unity.  A  corrupt 
tree  cannot  bring  forth  good  fruit.  This  has  been  forgotten 
in  the  case  of  Oliver  Cromwell. 


4^<« 


CHAPTER    IV. 

SCHISM    BETWEEN    THE    PARLIAMENT    AND    THE    ARMY. 

The  Two  Parties,  Presbyterians  and  Independents — Claims  of  the  Army 
— Joyce — The  King's  Leaning  towards  the  Independents — Army  man- 
ifesto— Religious  Liberty — Eleven  Members  accused — Errors — Influ- 
ence of  Oppression — Unlawful  Intervention  of  the  Presbyterians — Op- 
position of  the  Army — Independent  Influence — Cromwell  favorably 
disposed  towards  the  King — Charles's  Blindness — Letter  found  in  the 
Saddle — The  Silk  Garter  and  the  Hempen  Halter — Cromwell  despairs 
of  Charles — The  King's  I'light — He  reaches  the  Isle  of  Wight — Crom- 
well suppresses  the  Levellers — Treaty  with  the  Scots— Charles's  Reply 
to  Parliament — The  Pit  and  he  that  diggeth  it. 

There  were  now  two  parties  in  England,  Avhich  every  day 
assumed  a  more  distinct  character :  the  Presbyterians  and 
the  Independents,  or  Parliament  and  the  Army.  "  Modern 
readers,  mindful  of  the  French  Revolution,"  says  Carlyle, 
"  will  perhaps  compare  these  Presbyterians  and  Indepen- 
dents to  the  Gironde  and  the  Mountain.  And  there  is  an 
analogy ;  yet  with  differences.  With  a  great  difference  in 
the  situations ;  with  the  difference,  too,  between  Englishmen 
and  Frenchmen,  which  is  always  considerable  ;  and  then  with 
the  difference  between  believers  in  Jesus  Christ  and  believers 
in  Jean  Jacques,  v/hich  is  still  more  considerable."* 

Some  of  the  leading  men  of  the  Presbyterian  party  in  Par- 
liament (Holies,  Stapleton,  Harley,  Sir  William  Waller,  &c.) 
were  old  officers,  who,  being  unsuccessful  under  Lord  Essex, 
had  no  great  love  for  the  victorious  army  or  its  brave  general. 
They  wished  to  disband  it ;  but  the  soldiers,  who  had  shed 
♦  Letters  and  Speeches,  i.  289. 


SCHISM    BETWEEN    THE    PAULIAMEXT    AND    THE    ARMY.      66 

their  blood  in  the  lawful  defence  of  their  country,  claimed, 
prior  to  their  disbanding,  not  recompense  and  reward,  but 
simply  their  due — forty-three  weeks  arrears  of  pay.  Oliver, 
who  had  resumed  his  seat  in  Parliament,  was  deputed  by 
that  body  to  go  to  the  army  and  endeavor  to  quiet  it.  .On 
Ids  return,  he  received  the  thanks  of  the  House. 

On  the  2d  of  June,  (164*7,)  an  unexpected  event  occurred 
to  accelerate  the  course  of  events.  A  body  of  five  hundred 
men,  under  the  orders  of  Comet  Joyce,  proceeded  to  Holmby 
House,  -where  the  King  was  staying,  and  brought  him  off 
along  with  them.  Charles  flattering  himself  that  this  strug- 
gle between  the  Presbyterians  and  Independents  would  end 
in  the  extirpation  of  both,  and  greatly  delighted  with  any- 
thing that  would  imbitter  their  disputes,  willingly  accom- 
panied the  soldiers. 

Another  motive  led  him  to  incline  to  the  side  of  the  Inde- 
pendents and  of  the  Army.  It  was  held  impossible  for 
Charles  to  come  to  an  understanding  with  the  Presbyterians, 
considering,  as  he  did,  that  Episcopal  government  was  essen- 
tial to  Christianity,  while  the  Presbyterians  were  bound  by 
their  Covenant  to  abolish  Episcopacy.  On  tl\g  other  hand, 
there  was  always  an  opening  for  some  arrangement  with  the 
Independents,  who  were  disposed  to  use  all  their  exertions 
with  Parliament  to  tolerate  Episcopacy,  as  well  as  the  other 
sects.  They  were  convinced  that  if  the  opposite  party  once 
got  the  upper  hand,  they  would  tyrannize  over  conscience, 
as  much  as  the  bishops  themselves  had  done  in  the  early 
years  of  Charles's  reign.  In  fact  the  Presbyterians,  when- 
ever they  offered  to  treat  with  the  King,  always  proposed 
that  steps  should  be  taken  to  suppress  the  Independent 
opinions,  as  well  as  those  of  other  sectaries.* 

On  the  10th  of  June,  the  principal  officers  of  the  array 
(Fairfax,  Cromwell,  Hammond,  Ireton,  Lambert,  and  otliers) 
wrote  to  the  Lord  Mayor  and  Common  Council  of  the  City 

•  Neale,  History  of  the  PuriUin,  ii.  440.     London,  1837. 
6* 


'%i-x- 


66  SCHISM    BETWKEN    THE    PARLIAMENT 

of  London,*  demanding  satisfaction  for  their  undoubted 
claims  as  soldiers ;  protesting  against  the  misrepresentations 
of  which  they  had  been  made  the  victims ;  declaring  that 
their  cause  could  not  be  separated  from  that  of  the  Parlia- 
ment and  the  people ;  and  desiring  "  a  settlement  of  the 
peace  of  the  kingdom  and  of  the  liberties  of  the  subject," 
according  to  the  promises  made  before  the  war, — promises 
for  which  many  of  their  dearest  companions  in  arms  had  lost 
their  lives. 

But  the  principal  point  of  the  army-manifesto  was  religious 
liberty.  The  Independents  consented  that  the  Presbyterian 
religion  should  be  the  religion  of  the  nation  ;  thus,  granting 
to  the  latter  body  a  superiority  over  their  own  party  ;  but 
they  claimed  for  all  Christians  the  full  enjoyment  of  civil 
and  religious  rights.  This,  says  Lord  Clarendon,  was  their 
great  chailer,  and  they  were  determined  not  to  lay  down 
their  arms  until  they  had  obtained  it.  The  Independents  had 
shed  their  blood  for  Parliament  in  maintaining  the  liberties 
of  England,  and  they  thought  it  strange  they  should  be  al- 
lowed no  other  liberty  than  that  of  expatriation.  The  Pres- 
byterians in  the  English  Revolution  represented,  generally, 
order,  moderation,  and  respect  for  the  Constitution ;  but  the 
Independents,  it  must  be  acknowledged,  knew  much  better 
than  they  the  great  principles  of  religious  liberty.  If  we 
call  to  mind  the  manner  in  which  Presbyterianism  afterwards 
vanished  from  England,  leaving  behind  it  only  a  small  num- 
ber of  Unitarian  congregations,  we  cannot  help  thinking  that 
some  bad  principle  must  have  crept  into  this  party. «  Scot- 
land is  the  true  country  for  this  system  of  church-constitu- 
tion, which  has  never  been  able  to  maintain  its  footing  on  the 
south  of  the  Tweed,  though  it  has  borne  the  fairest  fruits  in 
the  north,  and  is  now  producing  fairer  fruits  than  ever.f 

•  Carlyle,  i.  29G-300. 

t  A  young  "  Presbyterian  Church  in  England, "  professing  the  princi- 
ples of  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland,  at  present  numbers  about  eighty 
congregations;  and  the  good  spirit  by  which  it  is  animated  would  seem 
to  be  a  warrant  of  its  progress  and  duration. 


A.Su     liii.    AU.ili.  6*7 

The  officers  of  the  army,  in  their  peiiiiuu  lu  tlie  Lord 
Mayor  and  city  of  London,  continue  thus : — "  We  have  said 
before,  and  profess  it  now,  we  desire  no  alteration  of  the  ci\-il 
government.  As  httle  do  we  desire  to  interrupt,  or  in  the 
least  to  intermeddle  with  the  settling  of  the  Presbyterian 
government.  Nor  did  we  seek  to  Open  a  way  for  licentious 
liberty,  under  pretence  of  obtaining  ease  for  tender  con- 
sciences. We  profess,  as  ever  in  these  things,  when  once  the 
state  has  made  a  settlement,  we  have  nothing  to  say  but  to 
submit  or  suffer.  Only  we  could  wish  that  every  good  citi- 
zen, and  every  man  who  walks  peaceably  in  a  blameless  con- 
versation, and  is  beneficial  to  the  Commonwealth,  might  have 
liberty  and  encouragement;  this  being  according  to  the  true 
policy  of  all  states,  and  even  to  justice  itself." 

This  was  no  doubt  written  by  Cromwell,  and  it  is  impos- 
sible to  find  terms  at  once  more  just,  wise,  and  moderate. 
Perhaps  in  no  other  case  has  a  victorious  party  employed  lan- 
guage similar  to  it.  Every  politician  and  age  will  know  how 
to  appreciate  such  examples. 

On  the  16th  of  June,  the  army,  still  at  Saint  Albans,  ac- 
cused of  treason  eleven  members  of  the  House  of  Commons: 
Holies,  Waller,  Stapleton,  and  eiulit  others,  all  of  whom  asked 
leave  to  retire  for  six  months. 

This  is  one  of  the  epochs  in  the  i-nitcctor  s  life  that  has 
been  the  most  severely  handled  by  English,  French,  and  Ger- 
man historians.  "The  old  narratives,"  says  Mr.  Carlyle,* 
•  written  all  by  baffled  enemies  of  Cromwell,  (Holies,  Waller, 
r.  C-.)  are  full  of  mere  blind  rage,  distraction,  and  darkness  ;  the 
new  narratives,  believing  only  in  *  Machiavelisra,'  &c.,  disfig- 
ure the  matter  still  more.  Common  history,  old  and  new, 
represents  Cromwell  ;is  having  underhand, — in  a  most  skilful 
and  indeed  prophetic  manner, — fomented  or  originated  all 
this  commotion  of  the  elements ;  steered  his  way  through  it 
by 'hypocrisy,'  by  'master-strokes  of  duplicity,' and  such 
like.     As  is  the  habit  hithorti)  of  history." 

•  Cromwcir*  Lrtloru  «nd  Sp'crhcii,  i.  287. 


^  jK 


68  SCHISM    BETWEEN    THE    PARLIAMENT 

To  this  we  will  add  the  opinion  of  Lilbume,  the  most  un- 
manageable and  least  credulous  of  the  republicans,  who  had 
several  sharp  altercations  with  Cromwell,  and  who  wrote  to 
him  on  the  25th  of  March  in  this  same  year  in  the  following 
terms  : — "  I  have  looked  upon  you,  as  among  the  powerful 
ones  of  England,  as  a  man  with  heart  perfectly  pure,  per- 
fectly free  from  all  personal  views."  Such  testimony  as  this 
is  deserving  of  far  more  confidence  than  the  insinuations  or 
the  clamors  of  Ludlow  and  the  Protector's  other  enemies.* 

We  have  no  desire  to  make  an  indiscriminate  apology  for 
Cromwell  and  his  friends ;  but  we  wish  to  be  equitable,  and 
to  take  into  consideration  the  influences  by  which  he  must 
have  been  acted  upon.  There  was  at  that  time  a  twofold  op- 
pression in  England.  The  friends  of  liberty  had  been  op- 
pressed by  the  tendency  of  the  crown  towards  absolute 
power ;  and  the  popular  independent  church  had  been  har- 
assed from  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  and  even  prior  to  that,  by 
the  state-church.  Oppression  may  sometimes  have  a  good 
effect  upon  the  sufferers,  but  it  also  has  a  bad  one.  In  Eng- 
land it  gave  greater  energy  to  the  love  of  liberty  and  to  the 
religious  life  ;  but  it  also  produced  in  the  friends  of  civil  and 
religious  freedom  a  certain  rudeness,  acrimony,  violence,  and 
exaggeration.  This  will  be  found  at  all  times  in  political  and 
religious  parties  which  have  long  been  trodden  down.  To 
whom  must  we  ascribe  the  blame  ?  Are  not  the  oppressors 
far  more  guilty  than  their  victims  ?  Cromwell  and  his  party 
would  no  longer  permit  themselves  to  be  checked,  not  even 
by  their  old  friends.  The  torrent,  kept  for  a  time  within  its 
channel,  bursts  forth  with  the  greater  fury,  when  once  the 
banks  are  broken  through.  It  overthrows  every  obstacle,  and 
deep  gulfs  mark  its  devastating  course. 

Parliament  was  now  in  the  greatest  perplexity,  not  know- 
ing what  to  do  to  satisfy  the  Presbyterians  and  the  City  of 
London  on  the  one  hand,  the  Independents  and  the  army  on 
♦  M.  Guizot  seems  to  have  placed  too  much  confidence  in  Ludlow's 
Mcmoini. 


AND   THE    ARMV.  t}9 

the  other.  The  Presbyterians  called  upon  God  to  incline  the 
hearts  of  the  Scotch  to  come  to  their  support.  It  would  seem 
that  tht'ir  ecclesiastical  system  was  an  exotic  plant  in  Eng- 
land, which  could  not  be  kept  alive  without  the  hand  that 
had  first  transported  it  thither.  On  the  26th  of  July,  some 
citizens  of  London  attiiched  to  that  system,  forgetful  of  the 
character  of  moderation  which  belonged  to  them,  went  down 
to  Westminster,  accompanied  by  a  mob  of  apprentices  and 
mechanics,  to  demand  that  the  actual  officers  of  the  army 
should  be  dismissed,  and  their  commissions  given  to  men  de- 
\ Dted  to  the  Presbyterian  cause.  They  entered  the  House  of 
Commons  with  their  hats  on,  calling  out,  '  Vote,  vote  !"  and 
did  not  retire  until  the  House  had  complied  with  their  wishes. 

Upon  this  the  Duke  of  Manchester,  speaker  of  the  House 
of  Lords,  with  eight  peers,  and  Lenthall,  speaker  of  the 
House  of  Commons,  attended  by  a  hundred  members,  pri- 
vately withdrew  from  Westminster,  and  joined  the  army.  At 
llieir  request  the  soldiers  marched  to  London  and  restored 
the  fugitives  to  their  seats,  when  it  was  resolved  to  exclude 
from  Parliament  the  ringleaders  of  the  late  tumult.  From 
that  time  the  Independent  influence  supplanted  the  Presby- 
terian in  the  Lower  House. 

At  first  they  showed  themselves  well-disposed  towards 
Charles,  and  Oliver  made  a  most  temperate  use  of  the  power 
which  the  course  of  events  had  placed  in  his  hands.  One  of 
his  cousins,  John  Cromwell,  had  heard  him  say  at  Hampton 
Court :  "  I  think  the  king  the  most  injured  prince  in  the 
world,  but  this," — touching  his  sword — "  shall  right  him." 
He  shrank  from  a  revolution :  he  sought  to  prevent  it,  and  to 
re-establish  his  sovereign  in  the  enjoyment  of  a  legitimate 
authority.  Everything  shows  that  he  was  sincere  in  this  do- 
sire.  "May  God  be  pleased  to  look  tipon  me,"  said  he,  "ac- 
cording to  the  sincerity  of  my  heart  towards  the  king."  He 
did  not  as  yet  despair  of  Charles,  and  he  desired  to  save  this 
prince  not  less  from  the  excesses  of  his  own  despotism  than 
from  those  of  the  Levellers.     This  even  the  prejudiced  his- 


^\ 


70  SCHISM   BETWEEN    THE    PAULIAMENT 


torian  of  the  Four  Stuarts  seems  to  acknowledge.*  Oliver 
and  Ireton  had  frequent  interviews  with  the  King  and  his 
agents,  and  the  propositions  they  made  were,  in  the  actual 
state  of  affairs,  very  equitable.  Parliament  had  required  that 
the  regal  authority  should  be  limited  for  twenty  years ; 
Cromwell  asked  for  ten  only,  and  declared  that  the  King's 
conscience  ought  to  be  left  free  as  regarded  episcopacy.  Sir 
John  Berkeley,  one  of  Charles's  attendants,  entreated  him  to 
accept  these  terms  ;  and  hence,  for  some  time,  strong  hopes 
were  entertained  of  a  pacification.  Cromwell's  wife  and 
daughters  were  presented  to  the  King  at  Hampton  Court, 
where  the  latter  recei\'ed  them  with  great  honors.  Even  the 
general  himself  and  Ireton  were  seen  walking  with  him  in  the 
Park,  and  were  known  to  be  often  closeted  with  him. 

It  was  this  monarch's  destiny  to  be  the  contriver  of  his 
own  ruin.  The  graciousness  displayed  at  Hampton  C^ourt 
Avas  mere  treachery.  Misled  and  perhaps  excited  by  mes- 
sages from  France,  conveyed  to  him  by  Mr.  Ashburnham, 
the  King  rejected  the  most  favorable  offers.  "  I  can  turn  the 
scale  Avhich  way  I  please,"  said  he  to  his  agents ;  "  and  that 
party  must  sink  which  I  abandon."  "  Sire,"  replied  Berke- 
ley, "  a  crown  so  near  lost  was  never  recovered  on  easiei 
terms."  Charles  in  fact  did  turn  the  scale,  .  .  .  but  to  his 
own  destruction. 

Negotiations  were  not  yet  terminated ;  the  King  even  ap- 
peared desirous  of  resuming  them  ;  and  spoke  of  giving  Crom- 
well the  order  of  the  Garter  and  the  command  of  the  army, 
Avhen  information  was  sent  to  this  great  leader,  that  in  the 
course  of  the  same  day  a  letter  addressed  to  the  queen  would 
be  dispatched  for  France,  carefully  sewn  up  in  the  flaps  of  a 
saddle,  Avhich  a  man,  not  in  the  secret,  would  carry  on  his 
head,  about  ten  o'clock  at  night,  to  the  Blue  Boar,  in  Hol- 
born,  whence  it  would  be  forwarded  for  France  by  way  of 
Dover. 

Cromwell  and  Ireton  at  once  determined  to  seize  this  op- 
*  Chntoaubriand,  I.ps  Quatre  Sfmnls.  p.  ]-i9. 


AND    THE    ARMT.  7' 

portunity  of  learning  the  King's  thoughts ;  for  a  feeling  of 
uneasiness  had  constantly  pursued  them  amidst  all  his  prom- 
ises and  favors.  They  left  Windsor,  disguised  as  private 
soldiers,  and  on  reaching  the  tavern,  placed  a  trooper  they 
i  ;i(l  brought  with  them  on  watch  at  the  door,  sat  down,  and 
>  lied  foi  some  beer.  At  ten  o'clock  the  messenger  appeared  ; 
i  i:ey  seized  the  saddle  under  the  pretext  that  they  had  orders 
to  search  everything,  carried  it  into  the  inn,  ripped  up  the 
lining,  found  the  letter,  closed  up  the  saddle  again,  and  re- 
turned it  to  the  terrified  messenger,  saying  that  it  was  all 
right,  that  he  was  an  honest  fellow,  and  might  continue  his 
journey  without  fear. 

The  impatient  Generals  then  withdrew  to  a  private  room, 
and  opened  the  letter.  "  My  time  is  come  at  last,"  wrote  the 
King.  "  I  am  now  the  man  whose  favor  they  court.  I  in- 
1  line  rather  to  treat  with  the  Scotch  than  with  the  English 
iiiiny.  For  the  rest,  I  alone  imderstand  my  position;  be 
(piite  ea-sy  as  to  the  concessions  I  may  grant ;  when  the  time 
comes,  I  shall  know  very  well  how  to  treat  these  rogues,  and 
instead  of  a  silken  garter,  1  will  fit  them  with  a  hempen  hal- 
ter." Ireton  and  Cromwell  looked  at  each  other.  This  was 
the  truth,  then,  as  regarded  Charles,  and  what  the  nation 
might  expect  of  him.  With  perfidious  hand  he  had  rent 
the  compact  which  united  him  to  England.  He  no  longer 
possessed  any  moral  value  in  the  eyes  of  his  people.  All 
confidence  and  respect  were  lost :  and  yet  be  was  still  a  king. 
j"hc  two  chiefs  left  the  Blue  Boar  with  the  deepest  emotion, 
and  rode  hastily  back  to  Windsor.  Not  long  after,  Crom- 
.  I'll  wailed  upon  Mr.  Ashburnham,  one  of  the  King's  attend- 
ants, and  declared  that  he  was  now  satisfied  that  his  majesty 
could  not  be  trusted. 

From  this  time  the  separation  between  Charles  and  the 

uire   Protector — between   the    Kinij   and    England — was 

<    inplete.     The  letter  enclosed  in  the  saddle  was  a  divorce 

liviween  his  people  and  the  unhappy  monarch,  who,  by  ro 

fusing  0  garter,  conferred  a  crown. 


■MB  ibaad  cf  mmm  iBteadei  «W|W  ^iK  ^  Ift^esET's 

rliriMi,  i»  1— y —Maiy  ^wt  — L Jle  leaekvitc 

^.^M^ydKr?    HegF»»«»— ftwe^MJiiftpn— iff 
tfe  kstf  «£  al  fe  poaeaBed,  »d  OHMiMMd  ker  to  gi»  tc 

tfm.  W  £d  aBB  -fom  ae  reSKrx  cf  isk  ■mjwi^ii  aad  12^ 
oeaci?-  — -  -  --^  r— -  —  -  -  -v»_  ABosTBoas  leocn 
ftce^  . .  Ji  cf  5>oi  I'  aihw,  at  irae 

in  fL-  zz^nst,  #<fnflf<d  tnr  a  aapi^  ^^  ~ 

T5.--    __.    ._..t_  ;    :;„ V  i2k  paii.  tke  fcresi»  ax-L.:. 

=is;  CiSicaiXT.     It  wtsmttd.  as  if  ihuii  -acre  a  \mtk  be- 
i:-i>i  -   '  -  -     1  ^id  annrhfT  befcii  kaa  den-- 

!=:?':  '^cTSTskencas  hands  tkeksBis 

r  I  iliiaji  ^ra»  fiaafced  W- 

^abi^  tD  aval  Aefcloodj 

'A  as  Wdtiaai  of  Otaaee 

d  io  Jaaws  IL,  nade  efcry 

'  .  li  aad  ys  RSreat  to  Fiaxtoe. 

srrs  ti«  iqtaWicaa  Ladkfir,  iiAif—pJ  the  Sag 

'   sad  Mftand.  Uat  cf  Ins  serrioesw     A  lEpon 

-  tbe  stzict  watch  of  the  ganisaaM  ffiMirhm 

^ed  CB  the  11th  of  Kot«aber.  and  thtt 

1  _:_^_  _L  _.-_  ?ithdrava  froaa  the  posts  ther  as^hr 

gaardedL    At  the  saane  tiaie  h  vas  aaaoted,  that  a  vtrsscl 

teat  hf  the  qaeea  was  uuiaug  off  dte  eoast,  towads  which 

}f^  aajestj  was  to  prcceed,  for  the  paqtuae  of  takni^  hna 

3st  wheaL^K  reached  the  shore,  bo  d^  aot  erea  a 

i^,^^i^-hoat,  was  hi  sighL     Beiag  bow  wi&oat  lesoaice,  he 

sarrmdered  U)  CoiflDd  HamHBd,  gtwretBUt  of  th*  Ida  of 


r 


ht  ted  me. 


z..£a4  te  voBavvi  <jiiwij  ;  viltk  tie  ihm  Wffi^;jmisr>£  i^ 
tetJbaregcasMdttetfctPgfiwifiitf  ^tBiatt^ 

-puC  ■I'Tjifir  ■  ' 

sad  ee»^  "  V«e!rtT?»-! 


mg  a  aMctiug  vitk  a  »■»»£- 

atdr  proeeeded  to  tkc  pH^bCc  v«  «a»>.  v  a 

few  Ben  oair  of  wl  Mr  }•,•  -c  .^  <_--,  ao- 

ooted,  ke  p«t  K  -.be 

■oai  sedbioBS.     .vi.-  ::;•  :  ^< 
taed  BOMe  of  them  vhh  1. 
aaoe  of  liis  firieads  ^yased  ti»e  others. 


On  sereral  occasior  ^abdned  tltose  denagogoea. 

If  thb  factkxis  spiri:,  .  -umdon.  "  had  '-<•■  >^  '^-^  «i- 

Mxmtered  at  that  tone  with  that  itx^b  and  br  of 

Cromwell,  it  would  presentlr  hare  pmdac<^  aii  iniogioable 

confaskm  in  the  parfiamcnt.  srn:r.  r«rf?  Vintrr^oni.'** 

Ere  long  fresh  hop-  retreat  m  tha 

laie  of  Wi.-^-       "^'  ....=•    v^ed  that  kmf 


74  6CHISM    liETWEKN    TIIK    PARLIAMENT 

propositions  should  be  presented  to  him  ;  and  if  he  accepted 
them,  he  should  be  allowed  to  treat  in  person  with  the  Par- 
liament. Commissioners  were  accordingly  sent  to  the  King, 
whom  they  found  in  appearance  favorably  disposed,  but  in 
reality  more  determined  than  ever  to  resist  them.  His  plan 
was  to  put  himself  at  the  head  of  the  Irish,  and  march 
against  England ;  and  he  secretly  prepared  to  leave  the  island, 
although  he  swore  to  the  contrary. 

A  fresh  chance  was  now  offered  the  King,  and  the  division 
among  his  adversaries  gave  him  hopes  of  recovering  all  his 
power.  Lord  Lauderdale  and  two  other  Scotch  Commis- 
sioners, shrouding  themselves  in  the  deepest  secrecy,  arrived 
at  Carisbrook  Castle  nearly  at  the  same  time  with  the  depu- 
tation from  Parliament.  They  promised  the  King  the  inter- 
vention of  a  Scottish  army  to  re-establish  him  in  his  rights  ; 
but  with  stipulations  to  the  advantage  of  Scotland  Avhich 
would  have  been  offensive  to  the  honor  of  England  ;  and  on 
condition  that  the  King  would  confirm  the  Presbyterian  es- 
tablishment in  England  for  three  years.  Charles  accepted 
everything:  in  two  days  the  treaty  vras  concluded  and 
signed,  and  then  hidden  mysteriously  in  a  garden  in  the 
island,  until  it  could  be  made  known  with  safety. 

When  this  was  settled,  he  gave  his  answer  to  Lord  Denbigh 
and  the  other  Parliamentary  Commissioners.  He  requested 
to  treat  in  person  without  being  pledged  to  accept  anything 
beforehand ;  and  the  Commissioners  returned  to  make  their 
report  to  Parliament. 

His  majesty's  position  was  now  worse  than  ever,  and  he 
Avas  the  artificer  of  his  own  ruin. 

It  had  been  Oliver's  wish  to  save  the  King,  and  re-establish 
him  on  a  constitutional  and  honorable  throne.  He,  like  many 
others,  had  been  subjugated  by  his  sovei-eign's  amiability. 
He  is  said  to  have  declared  that  the  interview  between  Charles 
and  his  children,  when  they  Avere  first  allowed  to  visit  liim, 
was  "  the  tenderest  sight  that  his  eyes  ever  beheld ;"  and  to 
have  wept  plentifulh'  Avhon  he  spoke  of  it,  "  which  he  might 


AND    THE    ARMV.  ^5 

well  have  done  without  hypocrisy,  for  in  private  life  he  was 
a  man  of  kind  feelings  and  of  a  generous  nature."* 

Cromwell  desired  to  save  his  King,  and  that,  too,  at  the 
very  moment  the  latter  designed  to  hang  him.  Alas  !  it  was 
the  unfortunate  Stuart  who  was  caught  in  the  snare  he  was 
laying  for  others.  He  that  diggeth  a  pit  shall  fall  into  it ; 
and  whoso  hreaketh  a  hedge,  a  serpent  shall  lite  him.  Such  is 
the  language  of  God's  Word;  and  there  faileth  not  aught  of 
any  good  thing  which  the  Lord  hath  spoken.  (Joshua  xxi.  45.) 

•  Southev.  Life  of  Cromwell.  59.     London,  LS4fi. 


CHAPTER    V. 

DEATH  OF  THE  KING. 

Parliament  resolves  to  hold  no  further  Communication  with  the  King — 
Prayer-meeting  at  Windsor — Second  Civil  War — Royalist  Insurrection 
— Scotch  Invasion — Cromwell's  Victories — Parliament  again  treats  with 
the  King — Charles's  Treachery — Great  Alternative — Army  remonstrates 
with  Parliament — Cromwell  justified  by  Facts — The  W'oodman  and  the 
Sower — Cromwell  to  Hammond — Truth  and  Error — The  King  at  Hurst 
Castle — Parliament  rejects  the  Remonstrance — Composition  of  the  Army 
— The  Army  at  London — Pride's  Purge — Cromwell's  Hesitation  about 
the  King — Cromwell's  religious  Error — Prayers— ^The  Will  of  God — 
Death  Warrant — The  Execution  censured— Revelation  of  the  King^s 
Treason — Principles  of  the  Roman  Church— Of  Milton — Charles's 
Children — Cromwell  to  his  Daughter-in-law — Cromwell  and  Charles's 
Corpse — The  European  Powers. 

The  Parliamentary  Commissioners,  on  their  return  from  the 
Isle  of  Wight  to  London,  presented  the  report  of  their  jour- 
ney and  its  restilts.  On  the  3d  of  January,  1648,  Sir  Thomas 
Wroth  rose  in  the  House  of  Commons  and  said :  "  Mr. 
Speaker,  Bedlam  was  appointed  for  madmen,  and  Tophet  (?'. 
e.  the  grave  or  hell)  for  kings  ;*  but  our  Eang  of  late  hath  car- 
ried himself  as  if  he  were  fit  for  no  place  but  Bedlam  ;  I  pro- 
p»se  we  lay  the  King  by,  and  settle  the  kingdom  without 
him."  Ireton  supported  the  motion.  "  The  King,"  said  he, 
"  by  denying  the  four  bills  has  denied  safety  and  protection 
to  his  people."  The  Parliamentary  or  Presbyterian  party 
strongly  resisted  the  proposition.  Cromwell  had  not  yet 
spoken.  In  his  view,  Charles's  bad  faith  had  reached  the 
*  Isaiah,  ixx.  33. 


DEATH    OF    THi:    KlXd.  77 

point  at  which  civil  tribunals  deprive  a  man  of  the  manage- 
ment of  his  family  ;  and  he  therefore  thought  that  the  man- 
agement of  the  kingdom  should  be  taken  from  a  prince  who 
was  no  longer  the  father,  but  the  deceiver  of  his  people. 
"  Mr.  Speaker,"  he  said,  "  the  King  is  a  man  of  great  sense, 
of  great  talents,  but  so  full  of  dissimulation,  so  false,  that 
there  is  no  pos.sibility  of  tioisting  him.  While  he  is  protest- 
ing his  love  for  peace,  he  is  treating  underhand  with  the 
Scottish  Commissioners  to  plunge  the  nation  into  another 
war.  It  is  now  expected  the  Parliament  should  govern  and 
defend  the  kingdom."  The  motion  was  immediately  adopted 
by  the  Commons,  and  by  the  Lords  after  some  little  hesitation. 

This  important  vote  caused  a  great  sensation,  and  ren- 
dered the  posture  of  affairs  daily  more  embarrassing.  A 
Scotch  army  tiilked  of  delivering  the  King  from  the  hands  of 
the  sectarians ;  and  in  England  three  parties,  in  addition  to 
the  soldiers,  were  agitating  the  nation.  The  royalist  party 
threatened  to  rise  eveiy  moment  with  shouts  of  "  God  and 
King  Charles  ;"  the  great  Presbyterian  party,  with  the  city 
of  London  at  their  head,  became  hourly  more  discontented 
with  the  slate  of  things  ;  and  a  third  party,  the  Levellers  or 
radicals,  still  further  increased  the  teiTor  and  confusion. 

One  day,  about  the  beginning  of  1G48,  the  aniiy  leaders 
met  at  Windsor.  "  The  longest  heads  and  the  strongest 
hearts  in  England  were  there,"  says  an  historian.  And  what 
did  tliey  there  ?  The  answer  will  be  founrl  in  the  following 
report  which  Adjutant-General  Allen  has  transmitted  to  us. 
— "  We  met  at  Windsor  Castle  about  the  beginning  of  Forty- 
eight,  and  there  we  spent  one  day  together  in  prayer ;  in- 
(piiring  into  the  causes  of  that  sad  dispeuAition  ;  coming  to 
no  further  resolve  that  day ;  but  that  it  was  still  our  duty  to 
seek.  And  on  the  morrow  we  met  again  in  the  morning-, 
where  many  sj)akt;  from  the  Word  and  prayed  ;  and  the  then 
Ijieutenant- General  Cromwell  did  press  very  earnestly  on  all 
there  present  to  a  thorough  consideration  of  our  actions  as  an 
army,  and  of  our  ways,  particularly  as  private  Chri-stians:  to 


1 


78  DKAJII    OF    THE    KING. 


see  if  any  iniquity  could  be  found  in  them,  and  what  it  was ; 
that  if  possible  we  might  find  it  out,  and  so  remove  the  cause 
of  such  sad  rebukes  as  were  upon  us  at  that  time.  And  to 
this  end,"  he  added,  "let  us  consider  when  we  could  last  say 
that  the  presence  of  the  Lord  was  among  us,  and  rebukes 
and  judgments  were  not  as  then  upon  us.  We  concluded  this 
second  day  with  agreeing  to  meet  again  on  the  morrow. 

"  Which  accordingly  we  did,  and  were  led  by  a  gracious 
hand  of  the  Lord,  to  find  out  the  very  steps  by  which  we  had 
departed  from  Him,  and  provoked  Him  to  depart  from  us. 
Which  we  found  to  be  those  cursed  carnal  conferences  our 
own  conceited  wisdom,  our  fears,  and  want  of  faith  had 
prompted  us,  the  year  before,  to  entertain  with  the  King  and 
his  party.  And  on  this  occasion  did  the  then  Major  GofFe 
make  use  of  that  good  Word,  Proverbs  i.  23 — Turn  you  at 
my  reproof :  behold,  I  will  pour  out  my  spirit  unto  you,  I 
will  make  known  my  words  unto  you.  And  the  Lord  so  ac- 
companied this  invitation  by  His  Spirit,  that  it  had  a  kindly 
effect,  like  a  word  of  His,  upon  most  of  our  hearts  that  were 
then  present ;  which  begot  in  us  a  great  sense,  a  shame  and 
loathing  of  ourselves  for  our  iniquities,  and  a  justifying  of  the 
Lord  as  righteous  in  His  proceedings  against  us.  He  led  us 
not  only  to  see  our  sin,  but  also  our  duty ;  and  this  so  unan- 
imously set  with  weight  upon  each  heart,  that  none  was  able 
hardly  to  speak  a  word  to  each  other  for  bitter  Aveeping, 
partly  in  the  sense  and  shame  of  our  iniquities ;  of  our  unbe- 
lief, base  fear  of  men,  and  carnal  consultations  Avith  our  own 
wisdom,  and  not  with  the  Word  of  the  Lord.  .  .  .  And  yet 
we  were  also  helped,  with  fear  and  trembling,  to  rejoice  in 
the  Lord,  who  no  sooner  brought  us  to  His  feet  but  He  did 
direct  our  steps,  and  Ave  Avere  led  to  a  clear  agreement  amorgst 
ourselves,  that  it  was  the  duty  of  our  day,  Avith  the  forces  we 
had,  to  go  out  and  fight  against  our  potent  enemies,  Avith  an 
humble  confidence  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  only. 

"And  Ave  Avere  also  enabled  then,  after  serious  seeking  the 
Lord's  face,  to  come  to  a  very  clear  and  joint  resolution,  that 


DK-VTll    OF    TllK    KING. 


70 


it  was  our  duty  to  call  Charles  Stuart,  that  man  of  blood,  to 
an  account  for  that  blood  he  had  shed,  and  mischief  he  had 
done  to  his  utmost  against  the  Lord's  cause  and  people  in 
these  poor  nations."* 

It  is  a  striking  spectacle  to  witness  the  bold  and  formida- 
ble leaders  of  the  Parliamentary  army  assembled  for  three 
days  in  prayer  in  the  palace  of  Windsor  to  seek  for  the  guid- 
ance of  the  Lord.  "Who  can  entertain  any  doubt  of  their  up- 
rightness, of  their  true  piety,  and  of  their  lively  faith  ?  Who, 
on  contemplating  their  example,  can  help  feeling  humiliated 
as  he  looks  sorrowfully  into  his  own  heart  ?  Who  will  not 
acknowledge  that  the  continual  falsehoods  of  Charles  L,  and 
the  conviction  at  which  the  champions  of  liberty  had  arrived, 
that  this  prince  was  betraying  them,  and  would  only  be  satis- 
fied Avith  the  destruction  of  Protestantism,  were  well  calcu- 
lated to  alarm  the  chiefs  of  the  army,  and  lead  them  on  to 
decisive  measures  ? 

And  yet,  were  they  really  in  the  right  path  ?  We  entertain 
some  doubt  on  this  point.  There  is  perhaps  no  case  in  which 
we  see  more  clearly  the  importance  of  being  enlightened  on 
the  true  principles  of  Christian  conduct.  When  the  leaders 
of  the  army  wished  to  know  what  they  ought  to  do,  they  ex- 
amined into  what  they  had  done  when  they  felt  happiest  and 
nearest  to  God :  such  are  not  the  means  prescribed  by 
Heaven.  They  should  have  asked  themselves,  "  What  does 
God  command  us  in  His  word  ?"  It  is  not  by  our  feelings 
that  He  will  guide  us,  but  by  his  commandments.  Our  feel- 
ings may  lead  us  astray.  TTiere  is  a  way  which  seemcth  right 
unto  a  man,  but  the  end  thereof  are  the  ways  of  death.  The 
Word  of  God  never  misleads  us.  A  Christian's  walk  is  in 
the  Divine  commandments  :  to  act  according  to  one's  own  sen- 
sations, one's  interior  illumination,  is  the  walk  of  the  mystic. 

If  the  officers  assembled  at  Windsor  did  not  then  fall  into 
fanaticism,  they  were  at  least  in  a  path  which  might  lead  to 
it ;  and  some  of  them  fell  into  it  afterwards. 

♦   sviin.r.'.  Tr.,1^    vl    i^^'^  :.01     .  ilr<l  Ik  r.irlvlr.  i.  337-340. 


80  DEATH    OF    THK    KING. 

Meanwhile  Cromwell  still  endeavored  to  check  the  move- 
ment which  was  hurrying  on  towards  a  violent  catastrophe. 
He  strove  to  restrain  the  pretensions  of  the  republicans  and 
enthusiasts.  He  was  grieved  to  see  the  power  passing  from 
the  hands  of  moderate  men,  and  extended  to  earnest  and  ac- 
tive persons  of  inferior  condition,  but  who  Avere  void  of  expe- 
rience and  wisdom.  He  assembled  one  day  at  dinner  the 
principal  Independents  and  Presbyterians,  and  earnestly  en- 
treated them  to  suspend  their  quarrels  and  combine  together. 
But  it  was  without  result ;  the  minds  of  all  were  inclined  to 
war;  and  Oliver  was  at  length  compelled  to  yield. 

The  King  and  the  royalists  on  their  side  were  not  less 
heated  than  the  republicans.  Charles  was  intriguing  Avith 
England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland.  At  one  time,  at  the  table 
of  some  rich  gentleman,  at  another  time,  at  the  assizes  or  in 
the  markets,  the  cavaliers  plotted,  worked  upon  the  people, 
and  their  exertions  seemed  ever3'where  crowned  with  suc- 
cess. A  discontent,  hourly  becoming  more  general,  an- 
nounced itself  in  the  spring  of  1648,  among  the  Presbyteri- 
ans and  the  loyalists  in  Wales  and  in  Kent.  "  The  gentry  arc 
all  for  the  king,"  writes  a  contemporary  ;  "  the  common  peo- 
ple understand  nothing,  and  follow  the  gentry." 

In  South  Wales,  several  officers,  who  had  gained  distinc- 
tion in  the  Parliamentary  armj-,  joined  the  cavaliers  beneath 
the  royal  flag.  In  Scotland,  the  Parliament  voted  a  levy  of 
40,000  men  in  the  King's  defence.  At  tliis  signal  the  royal- 
ists in  the  north  of  England  broke  out,  and  the  chiefs  of  the 
parhamentary  army  in  Ireland  went  over  to  the  King's  stan- 
dard. Shortly  after  this  event,  the  Kentish  royalists  drew 
together  in  great  numbers.  Even  in  London  troops  were 
raised  for  the  King,  and  armed  bands  marched  through  the 
streets  to  join  the  insurgents. 

At  this  news,  Cromwell,  at  the  head  of  five  regiments,  took 
his  departure  for  Wales,  where  lay  the  principal  strength  of 
the  royalists ;  and  letters  were  soon  after  received  from  him, 


DEATH    or    THR    KI.VG.  81 

promising  that  in  a  fortnight  Pembroke  Castle  would  be  in 
his  power. 

It  was  not  only  his  own  person,  his  own  and  his  children's 
lives,  that  Cromwell  offered  to  his  country  :  he  was  also  lavish 
of  his  property  ;  he  could  despise  small  interests  and  sacrifice 
them  to  great  ones.  Tliis  is  shown  by  the  following  letter 
addressed  to  the  Parliament : — 

"  To  the  Honorable  the  Committee  of  Lords  and  Commons  for 
the  affairs  of  Ireland,  sittinrj  at  Derby  House :  The  offer 
of  Lieutenant-general  Cromwell  for  the  service  of  Ireland. 

"2l8tMartii,  1G4S. 

"  The  Two  Houses  of  Parliament  having  lately  bestowed 
£1680  per  annum  upon  me  and  my  heirs,  out  of  the  Earl  of 
Worcester's  Estate ;  the  necessity  of  affairs  requiring  assist- 
ance, I  do  hereby  offer  one  thousand  pounds  annually  to  be 
paid  out  of  the  rents  of  said  lands  ;  that  is  to  say  £500  out  of 
the  next  Michaelmas  rent,  and  so  on,  by  the  half  year,  for  the 
space  of  five  years,  if  the  War  in  Ireland  shall  so  long  con- 
tinue, or  that  I  live  so  long :  to  be  employed  for  the  service 
of  Ireland,  as  the  Parliament  shall  please  to  appoint ;  pro- 
vided the  said  yearly  rent  of  £1680  become  not  to  be  sus- 
pended by  war  or  other  accident. 

"  And  whereas  there  is  an  arrear  of  pay  due  unto  me  whilst 
I  was  Lieutenant-general  imto  the  Earl  of  Manchester,  of 
about  £1500,  audited  and  stated  ;  as  also  a  great  arrear  duo 
for  a!)0ut  two  years  being  governor  of  the  Isle  of  Ely :  I  do 
hereby  discharge  thr  Stiilc  from  sill  or  any  claim  to  be  made 
by  me  thereunto.  Oliver  Cromweu.." 

Still,  he  found  it  necessary  to  accelerate  matters.     On  the 
8th  of  July  the  royalist  army  from  Scotland  crossed  the  bor- 
der ;  but  the  hearts  of  the  Scottish  nation  were  not  with  theii 
army.     The  faithful  Presbyterians  complained  loudly  that, 
♦  Commona  Journal*,  v.  613.     Carlylc,  i.  326. 


1 


82  DEATH    OF   THE    KIKG. 


while  everything  was  done  to  restore  the  King  to  his  rights, 
nothing  was  done  to  put  Christ  in  possession  of  His.  Pem- 
broke Castle  surrendered  three  days  after  the  Scotch  inva- 
sion. On  the  very  next  day  the  victor  hastened  northwards, 
writing  to  his  friends  at  Derby  House  :  "  Send  me  some  shoes 
for  my  poor  tired  soldiers  ;  they  have  a  long  march  to  take." 
With  those  ill-shod,  ill-clad  soldiers  he  traversed  England 
from  west  to  east,  and  then  from  north  to  south,  with  the 
rapidity  of  lightning  ;  and  suddenly  the  cavalry  sent  word  to 
the  Duke  of  Hamilton,  who  commanded  the  Scotch  army, 
that  Cromwell  was  approaching.  "  Impossible,"  replied  the 
Duke;  "he  has  not  had  time  to  come."  But  the  outposts 
were  already  engaged  with  the  advanced  guard  of  the  Par- 
liamentarian general.  Cromwell  defeated  the  royalists, 
dashed  upon  the  Scots,  whom  he  found  near  the  Ribble, 
routed  them  thoroughly,  crossed  the  river  with  them,  fol- 
lowed them  close  as  they  fled,  still  continuing  their  invasion, 
to  the  southward,  came  tip  with  them  in  a  defile  near  War- 
rington, and  compelled  them  to  surrender.  A  fortnight's 
campaign  had  sufficed  to  sweep  away  the  whole  northern 
army.  The  conqueror  marched  into  Scotland,  where  he  was 
joined  by  the  Presbyterians,  who  gave  him  a  magnificent  re- 
ception at  Edinburgh. 

During  this  time,  the  English  Parliament,  alarmed  at  the 
success  of  their  own  army,  were  taking  steps  to  come  to  a 
reconciliation  with  Charles.  This  body  was  continually  os- 
cillating between  the  two  parties  :  it  Avas  "  like  the  wave  of 
the  sea  driven  with  the  wind  and  tossed.  Let  not  that  man 
think  that  he  shall  receive  anything  of  the  Lord."  This  dec- 
laration of  Scripture  was  destined  soon  to  be  realized  in  re- 
spect to  the  things  of  this  world. 

Parliament,  which  had  invited  the  eleven  proscribed  mem- 
bers to  resume  their  seats,  was  resolved  on  making  new  and 
favorable  proposals  to  the  King.  On  the  30th  of  June  the 
vote  forbidding  any  further  address  to  his  majesty  was  re- 
Bcinded.     "  You  know  not  in  what  condition  you  are,"  said 


DEATH    OF    THE    KINO.  8t 

Sir  Symond  d'Ewes  ;  "your  silver  is  clipped,  your  gold  ship- 
ped, your  ships  are  revolted,  yourselves  contemned ;  your 
Scots  friends  enraged  against  you,  and  the  affection  of  the 
city  and  kingdom  quite  alienated  from  you.  Judge  then, 
whether  you  are  not  in  a  low  condition,  and  also  if  it  be  not 
high  time  to  endeavor  a  speedy  settlement  and  reconcilement 
^vith  his  majesty." 

Parliament  growing  daily  more  and  more  alarmed  at  the 
success  of  the  army,  voted  that  they  would  not  persist  in  re- 
quiring from  Charles  the  adoption  of  the  four  preliminary 
bills,  and  that  fresh  negotiations  should  immediately  be 
(ipened  with  the  King  in  the  Isle  of  Wight  (July  29). 

Fifteen  commissioners  (five  members  of  the  Upper  House 
and  ten  of  the  Commons)  left  London  to  present  themselves 
before  the  King.  Twenty  of  his  most  fjiithful  servants,  lords, 
divines,  and  lawyers,  had  been  permitted  to  advise  with  him ; 
and  he  was  attended  by  his  chamberlains,  pages,  equerries, 
:  t'crelaries,  and  grooms  of  the  chamber.  The  commission- 
( IS  exhorted  him  to  accept  their  proposals  before  the  army 
hould  have  time  to  return  to  London.  The  King  seemed 
inclined  to  do  so;  but,  true  to  his  double-dealing,  he  nour- 
ished in  his  heart  a  far  different  hope.  Orraond  had  quitted 
Franco,  and  was  alwut  to  reappear  in  Ireland,  provided  with 
money  and  ammunition  to  enter  upon  a  vigorous  war. 
Charles's  heart  was  there :  he  thought  of  escaping  and  put- 
ting himself  at  the  head  of  that  army.  He  solemnly  prom- 
ised to  give  orders  for  the  cessation  of  all  hostihties  in  Ire- 
land ;  but  at  the  same  time  secretly  wrote  to  Ormond  on  the 
:  0th  of  October :  "  Trouble  not  yourself  about  my  conces- 
;ons  as  to  Ireland :  Obey  my  wife's  orders,  not  mine."  And 
•in  the  9th  of  the  same  month,  he  wrote  to  Sir  William  Hop- 
kins :  "  My  great  concession  this  morning  was  made  only 
with  a  view  to  facilitate  my  approacliing  escape."  Such  was 
the  prince  whose  dupe  the  Parliament  became.  There  never 
perhaps  was  any  body  of  men  who  showed  themselves  so 
simplf.  or  who  sjfavc  such  evidence  of  folly  and  inexperience. 


84  DEATH    OF    illK    KING. 

Oliver's  principal  "  crime"  was  liis  having  more  sagacity  and 
discernment.     This  crime  was  almost  a  virtue. 

What  would  now  be  done  by  those  men  who,  after  prodi- 
gies of  valor,  long  labors,  great  sacrifices  and  astonishing  vic- 
tories, in  which  the  intervention  of  Providence  had  been 
manifested  to  them,  had  arrested  the  progress  of  despotism, 
secured  liberty  of  conscience,  and  rescued  Protestantism  and 
England  ? 

They  saw  that,  unless  they  interfered,  Charles,  popery, 
and  tyranny,  would  resume  the  superiority  ;  that  good  men 
woidd  be  oppressed,  they  themselves  beheaded,  their  breth- 
ren compelled  to  flee  by  thousands,  if  they  could,  into  the 
wilds  of  America,  and  the  Protestant  Avould-be  church 
crushed. 

One  alternative  oflfered  itself  to  them. 

Must  they  abandon  what  they  have  done,  and  let  things 
take  their  course  ? 

Or  must  they  interfere  irregularly  in  those  irregular  times, 
and  once  more  rescue  England  and  the  Church  ? 

Some  of  Cromwell's  friends,  and  in  particular  Colonel  Ham- 
mond, to  whom  he  wrote  a  letter  about  that  time,  a  portion 
of  which  we  shall  quote,  was  for  the  first  alternative ;  Oliver 
inclined  to  the  second.  The  army,  no  doubt  at  his  suggestion 
(he  had  not  yet  returned  from  his  northern  expedition),  pre- 
sented a  Remonstrance  to  Parliament,  and  moved  from  Saint 
Albans  to  Windsor  on  the  25th  of  November,  1648. 

Of  the  two  alternatives,  which  was  the  better  ?  The  sec- 
ond was  desperate, — monstrous, — and  yet  we  must  acknowl- 
edge that  facts  have  several  times  spoken  in  its  favor. 

The  liberties  and  Protestantism  of  England  were  on  the 
verge  of  shipwreck,  when  Cromwell  intervened  ;  and  all  his 
life  he  upheld  in  Great  Britain  religious  liberty  and  the  na- 
tional prosperity. 

And  what  became  of  tlie  country  after  his  death  ? — The 
Stuarts  returned ;  and  "  when  the  rejoicings  were  over,  the 


DKATII    OK    THE    KING.  86 

illuminations  extinct,  then punishments  followed."* 

One  hundred  corpses  were  exhumed,  amoni^  which  were  the 
great  Oliver,  his  old  and  venerable  mother,  his  dearly  be- 
loved daughter  Bridget  Pym,  and  the  famous  admiral  Blake. 
Their  mouldering  bodies  were  hung  on  the  three  corners  of 
the  gallows  at  Tyburn,  and  the  cavaliers  found  a  subject  of 
merriment  and  pleasantrj'  in  this  revolting  exhibition.  Ears 
were  cut  off,  noses  were  slit,  and  numbers  lost  their  heads  on 
the  scaffold.  The  sentence  pronounced  against  them  all  was 
conceived  in  the  following  terms : — "  You  shall  be  drawn  on 
a  hurdle  to  the  place  of  execution,  and  there  you  shall  be 
hanged  by  the  neck ;  and  being  alive,  you  shall  be  cut  down 
and  mutilated  ;  your  entniils  shall  be  taken  out  of  your  body, 
and  (you  living)  the  same  to  be  burnt  before  your  eyes  ;  and 
your  head  to  be  cut  off,  and  your  body  to  be  divided  into 
four  quarters."!  The  Stuarts,  as  if  this  were  not  enough, 
filled  the  country  with  immorality  ;  and  an  illustrious  Roy- 
alist of  the  present  day  can  find  no  other  excuse  for  Charles 
II.  than  by  saying  that,  in  propagating  this  corruption  of 
morals,  "  it  is  probable  that  this  prince  merely  followed  the 
course  of  his  own  inchnations  and  the  fickleness  of  his  charac- 
ter."J  Two  thousand  ministers  were  driven  from  their  ben- 
efices ;  the  churches  were  oppressed  ;  the  noblest  hearts  of 
the  country  were  forced  to  seek  a  refuge  in  distant  lands ; 
vast  colonies  in  America  were  peopled  by  them ;  and  Eng- 
land would  have  become  like  Spain,  and  worse  than  Spain, 
had  not  William  III.  resumed  the  task  so  energetically  be- 
gun by  Cromwell.  If,  so  long  after  the  war,  and  after  a  pa- 
cific recall  to  their  native  land,  the  Stuarts  committed  such 
atrocities,  what  would  they  not  have  dared  when  men's  pas- 
sions and  animosities  were  in  full  vigor  ? 

In  one  of  his  writings  Luther  compares  himself  to  a  wood- 
man, (or  as  we  should  now  say,  a  pioiifiT.)  who  goes  into  a 

♦  Chatcaubrianil. 

t  Exact  and  impartial  Account  of  the  Trial,  &c.,  of  twenty-nine  Regi- 
tidct,  p.  57.     London,  1660.  :  Chateaubriand. 

8 


I 


86  DEATH    OF    THE    KIKG. 

forest,  into  the  midst  of  thorns,  thickets,  and  lofty  trees, 
and  there,  manfully  Avielding  his  axe,  hews  down  the  wood 
and  clears  the  ground  ;  and  he  compares  Melanctlion  to  the 
.husbandman  who  follows  him,  ploughing  the  soil  thus  pre- 
pared for  him,  and  with  liberal  hand  scattering  the  precious 
seed,  ere  long  to  cover  with  a  rich  harvest  the  once  unculti- 
vated ground.  This  comparison  is  also  applicable  to  Crom- 
well and  William  of  Orange.  Cromwell  was  the  pioneer, 
and  William  the  husbandman. 

The  former  of  these  champions  wrote  the  letter,  of  which 
we  proceed  to  give  a  portion,  to  Colonel  Robert  Hammond, 
governor  of  the  Isle  of  AVight,  to  justify  to  his  friend  the 
cause  of  the  army  in  the  struggle  with  Parliament,  and  to 
gain  him  over  to  his  own  views. 


"  To  Colonel  Robert  Hammond  :   These, 

25th  November,  1648. 
"  Dear  Robin, 

"  Thou  desirest  to  hear  of  my  experiences.  I  can  tell  thee  : 
1  am  such  a  one  as  thou  didst  formerly  know,  having  a  body 
of  sin  and  death  ;  but  I  thank  God,  through  Jesus  Christ  our 
Lord,  there  is  no  condemnation,  though  much  infirmity  ;  and 
1  wait  for  the  redemption.  And  in  this  poor  condition  I  ob- 
tain mercy  and  sweet  consolation  thi-ough  the  Spirit.  And 
find  abundant  cause  every  day  to  exalt  the  Lord  and  abase 
the  flesh, — and  herein  I  have  some  exercise. 

"  As  to  outward  dispensations,  if  we  may  so  call  them,  wc 
have  not  been  without  our  share  of  beholding  some  remark- 
able providences  and  appearances  of  the  Lord.  His  presence 
hath  been  amongst  us,  and  by  the  light  of  His  countenance 
we  have  prevailed.  We  are  sure  the  goodwill  of  Him  who 
dwelt  in  the  bush  (Exodus  iii.)  has  shined  upon  us ;  and  we 
can  humbly  say,  we  know  in  whom  we  have  believed  ;  who 


DEATH    OF   THE   KINO.    '  it 

can  and  will  perfect  what  remaineth,  and  us  also  in  doing 
what  is  well  pleasing  in  His  eyesight. 

"  I  find  some  trouble  in  your  spirit,  occasioned by 

the  dissatisfaction  3'ou  take  at  the  ways  of  some  good  men 
whom  you  love  with  your  heart,  who  through  this  principle, 
that  it  is  lawful  for  a  lesser  part,  if  in  the  right,  to  force  a 
numerical  majority,  &c 

"  You  say  :  '  God  hath  appointed  authorities  among  the 
nations,  to  which  obedience  is  to  be  yielded.  This  resides  in 
England  in  the  Parliament.     Therefore  resistance,'  &c. 

"  [This  is  true,  but]  I  do  not  therefore  think  the  author- 
ities may  do  anything  [i.  e.  whatsoever  they  like^,  and  yet  such 
obedience  be  due.  All  agree  that  there  are  cases  in  which  it 
is  lawful  to  resist.  If  so,  your  ground  fails,  and  so  hkewiso 
fhe  inference. 

"  I  desire  thee  to  see  what  thou  findest  in  thy  own  heart 
to  two  or  three  plain  considerations.  Whether  the  whole 
fruit  of  tlvc  war  is  not  likely  to  be  frustrated  [by  this  treaty 
\.  ilh  the  King],  and  all  most  like  to  turn  to  what  it  was,  and 
uorse  ?  And  this,  contrary  to  engagements,  explicit  cove- 
nants with  those  who  ventured  their  lives  upon  those  cove- 
nants and  engagements  ?  Whether  this  Jirmy  be  not  a  law- 
ful power,  called  by  God  to  oppose  and  tight  against  the 
King  ;  and  being  in  power  to  such  ends,  may  not  oppose  one 
name  of  authority,  as  well  as  another  name  ?"* 

Xo  doubt  there  are  errors  in  this  letter.  "  It  is  lawful  for 
the  lesser  party,  when  in  the  right,  to  force  the  majority,"  says 
Cromwell.  But  where  is  the  "  lesser  party,"  the  minority, 
that  does  not  think  it  is  in  the  right  ?  "  An  army  is  a  power," 
most  certainly  ;  but  it  is  a  power  to  fight,  and  not  to  delib- 
erate. Had  Oliver  gone  into  the  midst  of  the  Parliament, 
and  by  his  eloquence  brought  it  over  to  his  own  views,  he 
would  have  acted  legally ;  but  this  he  did  not  do.  It  has, 
however,  been  frequently  remarked  that  irregular  times  may 
justify  an  irregular  intervention.     And  he  himself  pronounced 

»  Birch,  p.  101  ;   f'arlvlr    i    n-3-l.T>. 


88  DEATH    OF   THE    KINO. 

somewhat  later,  in  his  own  justification,  the  following  words, 
which  reveal  the  motives  of  his  conduct :  "  The  throat  of  the 
nation  may  be  cut,  while  we  send  for  some  to  make  a  law."* 
Let  us  not  forget  that  the  balance  of  power  was  then  form- 
ing ;  that  the  constitutional  world  was  coming  forth,  as  it 
were,  out  of  chaos ;  and  that  to  these  remarkable  times  we 
are  indebted  for  our  greatest  luminaries. 

Hammond  had  had  several  painful  discussions  with  the 
King.  Charles,  after  concluding  contradictory  arrangements 
with  the  English,  Irish,  and  Scotch,  had  made  preparations 
with  Berkeley  and  Ashburnham  for  his  escape.  But  while 
he  was  in  conversation  with  them  on  the  best  means  of  get- 
ting away  safely,  the  gates  of  the  castle  were  closed,  and  all 
possibility  of  evasion  was  cut  off.  The  King  sent  for  Ham- 
mond, and  complained  bitterly  of  what  had  been  done.  "  Sir, 
you  are  too  high,"  said  the  colonel.  "  It  is  my  shoemaker's 
fault,  then,"  replied  his  majesty ;  "and  yet  my  shoes  are  of 
the  same  last."  This  paltry  jest  he  repeated  several  times, 
as  he  walked  the  room.  But  the  castle  gates  still  remained 
shut. 

Hammond  was  no  longer  at  the  Isle  of  Wifjht  when  Crom- 
well's  letter  arrived  there,  his  charge  having  been  previously 
transferred  to  Colonel  Ewer.  The  new  governor,  who  en- 
tered the  King's  lodgings  during  a  night  of  storm  and  pour- 
ing rain,  had  conducted  him  in  the  morning  to  Hurst  Castle 
on  the*  opposite  beacli. 

In  London  a  crisis  was  approaching.  The  Army,  as  we 
have  said,  had  presented  a  Remonstrance  to  Parliament,  re- 
quiring among  other  things  that  the  sovereignty  of  the  peo- 
ple should  be  proclaimed,  and  that  the  King  should  be  elected 
by  their  representatives.  This  prayer  was  I'ejected ;  and 
some  of  the  members  of  the  Commons  proposed  that  the  re- 
monstrants should  be  accused  of  high  treason.  From  that 
moment  the  question,  as  regarded  the  Independents,  became 
one  of  self-preservation.  They  had  to  select  between  two 
*  Birch,  iii.  292.     Speech  v.,  Sept.  17,  1656. 


DEATH    OK    THE    KINU. 


89 


roads  : — that  which  led  to  the  wilds  of  A  inerica,  and  that  to 
London.     They  chose  the  latter. 

We  should  here  remark,  that  Cromwell  often  asserted  that 
the  composition  of  his  army  was  very  different  from  that  of 
ordinary  armies.  And  Ave  should  also  call  to  mind  that  the 
Parliamentary  soldiers,  having  always  been  defeated  by 
Charles's  cavaliers,  the  Protector  had  gone  and  dragged 
from  their  daily  labors  and  from  their  families,  those  pious 
freeholders  and  farmers  by  whose  means  all  his  victories  had 
been  gained.  "These  poor  men,"  said  he  on  the  21st  of 
April,  1657,  "thought  they  had  ventured  their  lives,  and 
had  some  interest  to  inquire  after  these  things.  They  were 
not  mercenary  men,  but  men  who  had  wives  and  children  in 
the  nation ;  and  who  therefore  might  a  little  look  after  satis- 
faction in  what  would  be  the  issue  of  the  business."* 

The  army,  after  spending  one  day  in  prayer,  marched  from 
Windsor  under  the  command  of  General  Fairfa.\,  and  arrived 
in  London  on  the  2d  December.  On  Monday  (4th  Decem- 
ber) Parliament  resumed  the  question ;  and  on  Tuosdav,  at 
five  in  the  morning,  decided  in  favor  of  the  King  against  the 
army.  One  hundred  and  twenty-nine  against  eighty-three 
resolved  that  his  majesty's  reply  was  an  adequate  basis  of 
peace.  On  Wednesday,  two  regiments  were  posted  around 
Westminster  Hall,  and  Colonel  Pride,  with  a  list  of  names  in 
his  hand,  prevented  the  entrance  of  forty-one  of  the  most  de- 
termined members;  others  were  sent  to  the  Tower  or  scared 
away  into  the  country. 

Charles  was  now  brought  back  to  Windsor.  He  was  (Re- 
lighted to  re-enter  one  of  his  own  palaces,  and  be  served 
wilh  all  the  etiquette  of  court.  He  dined  in  public,  in  the 
hull  of  state,  under  a  canopy ;  the  chamberlain,  esquire-car- 
ver, master  of  (he  ceremonies,  and  cup-bearer,  waited  upon 
him  in  the  accustomed  manner ;  the  cup  was  presented  to  him 
kneeling,  and  all  the  ceremonial  of  kingly  state  was  preserved. 


*  Speech  xiii.,  in  SonirrsV  TracU,  vi.  389,  &c.    Carlyle,  iii.  ',i33. 
.8* 


90  DEATH    OF    THE    KING. 

But  the  sky  so  clear  and  bright  at  Windsor  was  covered  with 
dark  and  angiy  clouds  at  London. 

On  the  very  day  when  the  last  of  the  Presbyterians  re- 
tired from  the  Commons,  Cromwell  returned  from  Scotland, 
and  resumed  his  seat  in  Parliament.  The  House  received  the 
pacificator  of  Britain  with  the  liveliest  demonstrations  of  grat- 
itude. "  God  is  my  witness,"  said  he,  "  that  I  know  nothing 
of  what  has  been  doing  in  this  House ;  but  the  work  is  in 
hand ;  I  am  glad  of  it,  and  now  we  must  carrj-^  it  through." 
It  was  now  proposed  in  the  Commons  to  bring  the  King  to 
trial  on  a  cliarge  of  high  treason,  as  the  cause  of  all  the  blood 
which  had  been  shed  during  the  last  war.  Oliver  hesitated : 
"  Sir,"  said  he,  addressing  the  Speaker,  "  if  any  man  whatso- 
ever have  carried  on  this  design  [of  deposing  the  King,  and 
disinheriting  his  posterity],  or  if  any  man  have  still  such  a 
design,  he  must  be  the  greatest  traitor  and  rebel  in  the  world. 
But  since  the  Providence  of  God  hath  cast  this  upon  us,  I 
cannot  but  submit  to  Providence,  though  I  am  not  yet  pre- 
pared to  give  you  my  advice." 

The  initiative  in  the  case  of  Charles's  trial  did  not  proceed 
from  CromAvell.  His  scruples  and  his  anxiety  grew  stronger 
every  day.  Should  he  yield  to  the  powerful  tide  that  was 
hurrying  liim  along,  and  which  no  one  seemed  capable  of  re- 
sisting '?  or  should  he  withdraw  from  public  affairs,  and,  sac- 
rificing the  great  interests  of  civil  and  religious  liberty,  in 
behalf  of  Avhich  the  struggle  had  first  begun,  commit  the  di- 
rection of  state  aflPairs  to  unskilful  hands,  whose  weakness 
would  inevitably  lead  to  the  return  of  despotism  and  of 
Popery  ?  Seldom  or  never  has  there  been  a  more  terrible 
conflict  in  human  breast. 

The  Episcopalians,  the  English  Presbyterians,  the  Church 
of  Scotland,  protested  all  against  the  King's  trial.  Several 
foreign  princes  did  the  same  through  their  ambassadors.  The 
Parliament,  without  paying  any  attention  to  their  interces- 
sion, erected  a  High  Court  of  Justice  for  trying  the  sovereign. 


f 


DEATH    OF    THE    KING.  91 

to  consist  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  commissioners,  with 
John  Bradshaw  as  Lord-President.  On  the  20th  of  January 
(1G49)  Charles  was  brought  to  the  bar.  Cromwell  leant  to- 
wards the  window,  and  as  his  eyes  met  the  King's,  he  turned 
away  as  pale  as  death. 

We  are  approaching  a  catastrophe  which  we  would  wil- 
lingly avoid  ;  but  which  we  must  in  justice  acknowledge,  dif- 
fers essentially  from  that  which  startled  the  world  in  1793. 
If  the  safety  of  thd  nation  was  incompatible  with  Charles's 
remaining  on  the  throne,  was  it  necessary  that  he  should  pass 
from  the  throne  to  the  scaflbld  ?  Most  certainly  not.  To 
connive  at  his  escape  into  a  foreign  countrj-  would  have  been 
the  most  befitting  course, — an  expedient  that  was  afterwards 
adopted  in  the  case  of  James  II.,  and,  in  our  own  days,  in 
that  of  Charles  X.  It  was  also  that  Avhich  in  all  probability, 
as  we  have  seen,  Cromwell  once  desired  to  have  followed. 
But  the  fear  of  compromising  the  future  tranquillity  of  the 
nation  now  condemned  the  King  to  a  severer  penalty.  We 
must  deplore  such  times  as  those,  when  men -were  so  prodi- 
gal of  human  blood  :  we  must  lament  that  even  the  majesty 
of  the  throne  could  not  protect  a  guilty  prince ;  but  all  the 
documents  of  the  lOth  and  iTth  centuries  attest  that  men 
were  in  those  ages  condemned  to  death  as  we  now  condemn 
them  to  a  brief  imprisonment. 

We  cannot  forbear  quoting  in  this  place  the  remarkable 
words  of  Clarendon,  in  which  the  royal  historian  terminates 
his  judgment  of  the  Protector's  character.  "  To  conclude  his 
character,"  says  he,  "  Cromwell  was  not  so  far  a  man  of 
blood  as  to  follow  Machiavel's  method ;  which  prescribes, 
upon  a  total  alteration  of  government,  as  a  thing  absolutely 
necessary,  to  cut  off  all  the  heads  of  those,  and  extirpate  their 
families,  who  are  friends  to  the  old  one.  It  was  confidently 
reported,  that,  in  the  council  of  ofiiccrs,  it  was  more  than 
once  proposed  that  there  might  be  a  general  massacre  of  all 
the  royal  party,  as  the  only  expedient  to  secure  the  govern- 


92  DEATH    OF    THE    KING. 

ment ;  but  that  Cromwell  would  never  consent  to  it."*  Thus, 
according  to  the  testimony  of  this  great  political  adversary, 
the  General  had  no  appetite  of  blood. 

The  manner  in  which  he  was  at  length  led  to  sign  Charles's 
death-warrant  has  not,  perhaps,  been  sufficiently  appreciated. 
We  have  already  remarked  that  his  great  religious  error  was 
his  assuming  for  the  mainspring  of  his  actions  those  inward 
impulses  w"hich  he  ascribed  to  God  in  preference  to  the  ex- 
plicit commands  of  the  Holy  Scriptures.  He  believed  in 
Avhat  has  been  denominated  "a  particular  faith."  If,  while 
engaged  in  prayer  or  immediately  after,  he  felt  a  lively  con- 
viction in  his  mind,  he  thought  that  this  impression  proceeded 
immediately  from  heaven,  and  that  he  ought  to  follow  it  as 
the  very  voice  of  God.  If,  on  the  contrary,  his  devotions  re- 
mained languid,  he  concluded  that  he  ought  to  abstain  from 
the  meditated  act.  This  is  a  common  error  in  pious  minds, 
and  we  might  point  to  one  denomination  of  Christians,  cele- 
brated for  their  spirit  of  meekness  and  peace,  who  partially 
participate  in  such  sentiments. 

It  was  this  which  guided  him  in  the  sentence  passed  on 
Charles,  and  freed  him  from  all  his  doubts  and  scruples. 
John  Cromwell,  at  that  time  in  the  Dutch  service,  had  come 
to  England  with  a  message  from  the  Princess  of  AVales  and 
of  Orange  to  endeavor  to  save  the  King's  life.  When  intro- 
duced to  his  cousin  Oliver,  he  reminded  him  of  the  royalist 
opinions  he  had  formerly  entertained  at  Hampton  Court.  The 
latter,  still  uncertain  as  to  the  line  of  conduct  which  he  ought 
to  pursue,  replied,  that  he  had  often  fasted  and  prayed  to 
know  the  will  of  God  with  respect  to  the  King,  but  that  God 
had  not  yet  pointed  out  the  way.  When  John  liad  with- 
drawn, Cromwell  and  his  friends  again  sought  by  prayer  the 
path  they  ought  to  follow  ;  and  it  was  then  the  Parliamentar}' 
hero  first  felt  the  conviction  that  Charles's  death  alone  could 
save  England.     From  that  moment  all  was  fixed :  God  had 

*  History  of  Rebellion,  book  xv..  conclusion 


DEATH    OF    THE    KING.  93 

spoken ;  Oliver's  indecision  ■was  at  an  end  ;  it  remained  now 
merely  to  act  and  accomplish  that  will,  however  appalling  it 
might  be.  At  one  o'clock  in  the  morning  a  messenger  from 
the  General  knocked  at  the  door  of  the  tavern  where  John 
Cromwell  lodged,  and  informed  him  that  his  cousin  had  at 
length  dismissed  his  doubts,  and  that  all  the  arguments  so 
long  put  forward  by  the  most  decided  Ilepublicuiis  were  now 
confirmed  by  the  will  of  the  Lord. 

Enthusiasm,  then,  was  the  cause  of  CromweU's  error.  This 
is  a  serious  fault  in  religion ;  but  may  it  not  extenuate  the 
fault  in  morals?  Is  a  man  who  desires  to  obey  God  equally 
guilty  with  him  who  is  determined  to  listen  to  his  passions 
only  ?  Is  not  God's  will  the  sovereign  rule  of  good  and  evil  ? 

Chateaubriand,  a  witness  beyond  suspicion  on  this  point, 
speaking  of  the  times  at  which  we  have  been  glancing,  if  not 
of  the  particular  act  imder  eiamination,  proceeds  thus  :  "  At 
this  epoch  faith  was  everywhere,  except  in  a  small  number 
of  libertines  and  philosophers  ;  it  impressed  on  the  fiiults,  and 
sometimes  even  on  the  crimes,  something  grave,  and  even 
moral,  if  the  expression  may  be  allowed,  by  giving  to  the 
^  ictira  of  policy  the  conscience  of  the  martyr,  and  to  error 
tlie  conviction  of  truth."*  This  error  in  religion  is,  in  our 
opinion,  the  only  important  blemish  to  be  found  in  Cromwell. 
At  the  same  time  it  is  the  key  which  opens  and  explains 
his  whole  lif"  Hi-;  pifty  was  sincere  but  it  was  not  always 
-ober. 

Yet  if  this  error  be  a  great  extenuation  of  the  Protector's 
lault,  the  crime  to  which  it  led  him  must  ever  remain,  in  his- 
tory, as  a  warning  to  terrify  those  who  may  base  their  con- 
duct on  their  inward  impressions,  rather  than  on  the  sure, 
positive,  and  ever-accessible  inspirations  of  that  Word  of 
(fod  which  never  deceives. 

•  Les  Quatrc  Stuards.    ffiuvres  complttes,  vi.  147. 


94  DEATH    OF   THE   KING. 

We  now  proceed  to  give  a  document  which  we  think  of  too 
great  importance  to  be  omitted  : — it  is  the  King's 

DEATH-WARRANT. 

"  To  Colonel  Francis  Hacker,  Colonel  HuncTcs,  and  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  P  hay  r,  and  to  every  of  them. 

"  At  the  High  Court  of  Justice  for  the  Trying  and  Judging 
Charles  Stuart,  King  of  England,  29th  January,  1648 
[1649.  n.  s.]. 

"  Whereas  Charles  Stuart,  Kinrj  of  England,  is  and  stand- 
eth  convicted,  attainted  and  condemned  of  High  Treason  and 
other  high  Crimes ;  and  Sentence  upon  Saturday  last  was 
pronounced  against  him  by  this  Court,  To  be  put  to  death 
by  the  severing  of  his  head  from  his  body  ;  of  which  Sen- 
tence execution  yet  remaineth  to  be  done  : 

"  These  are  therefore  to  will  and  require  you  to  see  the 
said  Sentence  executed,  in  the  open  Street  before  Whitehall, 
upon  the  morrow,  being  the  Thirtieth  day  of  this  instant 
month  of  Januarj^,  between  the  hours  of  Ten  in  the  morning 
and  Five  in  the  afternoon,  with  full  effect.  And  for  so  doing 
this  shall  be  your  warrant. 

"  And  these  are  to  require  all  Officers  and  Soldiers,  and 
others  the  good  People  of  this  Nation  of  England,  to  be  as- 
sisting unto  you  in  this  service. 

"  Given  under  our  hands  and  seals, 

"  JoHx  Bradshaw. 

"  Thomas  Grey  [Lord  Groby]. 

"  OuvER  Cromwell." 

(And  fifty-six  others.) 

We  will  not  attempt  to  describe  the  death  of  the  unhappy 
Charles.  Whose  heart  would  not  be  wrung  by  the  contem- 
plation of  those  mournful  scenes  ?  Our  feelings  revolt 
against  the  fanaticism  which  led  a  prince  to  the  scaffold ;  we 
burn  with  indignation  against  those  feet  swift  to  shed  blood  ; 
we  desire  to  arrest  the  deadly  axe,  and  spurn  away  the  fatal 


11^ 


DKATIl    OF    THE    KINO.  95 

block And  yet  we  cannot  be  blind  to  the  con- 

virtion  that  the  divorce  between  England  and  the  Stuarts 
was  inevitable, — that  it  was  the  decree  of  God  himself.  Suc- 
ceeding ages  liave  branded  the  scaflFold ;  but  they  have  also 
ratified  the  solemn  sentence. 

Charles  I.  was  superior  to  his  son ;  he  was  virtuous  and 
sober,  and  would  have  desired  to  adopt  (whitt  is  impossible) 
a  certain  middle  course  between  Protestantism  and  Popery, 
rather  than  Popery  itself.  But  there  was  no  sincerity  in 
him  ;  and  he  was  from  long  habit  too  docile  to  the  fatal  sug- 
gestions of  the  Bourbons.  It  is  evident  that  if  he  had  been 
victorious  in  the  contest,  the  liberty  and  religion  of  England 
would  have  been  destroyed.  His  continual  falsehoods  had 
disgusted  the  greater  number  of  his  partisans.  "  Incurable 
in  his  duplicity,  because  he  held  himself  bound  to  no  engage- 
ment with  rebellious  subjects,  Charles  meditated  their  ruin, 
while  he  was  imploring  their  aid."* 

His  treasons  have  subsequently  been  brought  to  light.  Af- 
ter the  Restoration,  the  Earl  of  Glamorgan,  the  king's  secrect 
agent  in  Ireland,  wrote  a  letter  to  be  laid  before  Charles  II., 
in  which  he  discloses  the  perfidious  designs  of  Charles  I.  In 
this  letter,  published  by  the  Roman  Catholic  liistorian  Lin- 
gard,f  Glamorgan  says  ;  "  One  army  of  ten  thousand  men 
was  to  have  come  out  of  Ireland,  through  North  Wales  ;  an- 
other, of  a  like  number  at  least,  under  my  command-in-chief, 
have  expected  my  return  in  South  Wales,  which  Sir  Henry 
Gage  was  to  have  commanded  as  lieutenant-general ;  and 
a  third,  should  have  consisted  of  a  matter  of  0000  men, 
2000  of  which  were  to  have  been  Liegois,  commanded  by  Sir 
Francis  Edmonds,  2000  Lorrainers,  to  have  been  commanded 
by  Colonel  Browne,  and  2000  of  such  French,  English,  Scots, 
and  Irish,  as  could  be  drawn  out  of  Flanders  and  Holland. 

.  .  .  The  maintenance  of  this  army  of  foreigners  was 
to  have  come  from  the  Pope,  and  such  Catholic  Princes  as 

•  Ouizot,  Rcval.  il'-Ani^Irtorrp,  ii.  p.  IftO. 

f  History  of  Rngland,  x.     Not*  C.     Lsndon,  li39. 


96  DEATH    OF    THE    KING. 

he  should  have  drawn  into  it,  having  engaged  to  afford  and 
procure  £30,000  a  month ;  out  of  which  the  foreign  army 
was  first  to  be  provided  for,  and  the  remainder  to  be  divided 
among  the  other  armies.  And  for  this  purpose  had  I  power 
to  treat  with  the  Pope  and  Cathohc  princes,  with  partic- 
ular advantages  promised  to  Catholics  for  the  quiet  enjoying 
their  religion,  without  the  penalties  which  the  statutes  in 
force  had  power  to  inflict  upon  them.  And  my  instructions 
for  this  piu-pose,  and  my  powers  to  treat  and  conclude  there- 
upon, were  signed  by  the  King  under  his  pocket-signet,  with 
blanks  for  me  to  put  in  the  names  of  Pope  or  Princes,  to  the 
end  the  King  might  have  a  starting-hole  to  deny  the  having 
given  me  such  commissions,  if  excepted  against  by  his  own 
subjects  ;  leaving  me  as  it  were  at  stake,  who,  for  his  majes- 
ty's sake,  was  willing  to  imdergo  it,  trusting  to  his  word 
alone." 

Such  were  the  intrigues  of  Charles  I. 

While  the  Chmch  had  often  repeated  these  words  of  Saint 
Isidore,  contained  in  the  canons  of  the  Fourth  Council  of  To- 
ledo :  "He  is  a  king  who  governs  his  people  justly;  if  he 
does  otherwise,  he  shall  be  king  no  longer ;"  while  the  Pa- 
pacy claimed  the  privilege  of  dethroning  tyrants,  and  on  that 
ground  had  publicly  preached  against  Henry  III.  and  Henry 
IV.  of  France  ;  many  of  the  most  pious  men  of  the  age  we 
are  describing  (Milton  and  others),  claimed  the  same  rij;ht 
for  the  people.  "If  I  blame  tyrants,"  asked  the  poet,  "in 
what  does  that  concern  kings  ?" 

These  men  thought  that  Charles  by  his  perfidy  was  deserv- 
ing death,  and  that  his  quality  of  king  was  no  hindrance  to 
the  exercise  of  justice  by  the  Parliament.  "Parliament," 
said  they,  "  is  prince  in  the  land  like  the  king,  and  more  than 
the  king." 

This  was  a  mistake.  We  do  not  think  that  a  king  should 
ever  be  condemned  to  death ;  and  one  of  the  most  glorious 
results  of  modern  constitutional  principles  is  the  irresponsi- 
bility of  monarchs,  which  screens  them  from  the  faults  of 


DEATII    OK    THE    KIN(i.  97 

their  governments.  The  death  of  the  King  must  forever  bear 
in  history  a  mark  of  reprobation.  We  condemn  it  in  the 
most  expHcit  manner.  But  if  the  ideas  of  Milton  and  of  so 
many  Englishmen  in  the  seventeenth  century  are  erroneous, 
their  error  is  akin  to  that  of  Melancthon,  Farel,  and  Calvin  ; 
and  of  the  churches  of  Berne,  Zuric,  Schaffhausen,  and  Basle, 
in  the  case  of  Servetus.  We  shrink  with  as  much  horror 
from  the  death  of  the  heretic  as  from  that  of  the  despot.  Wo 
abhor  these  executions,  as  we  abhor  the  piles  of  John  Huss, 
of  Savonarola,  and  of  the  thousands  of  victims  whom  Rome 
has  immolated.  And  yet  we  should  take  the  peculiarities  of 
the  times  into  consideration.  Between  the  30th  of  January, 
1649,  and  the  21st  of  January,  1793,  there  had  elapsed  not 
merely  one  hundred  and  forty-four  years,  but  many  ages. 
One  of  the  first  essentials  for  the  proper  imdcrstanding  of 
history  is  to  transport  ourselves  into  the  times  we  are  de- 
scribing ;  but  there  are  few  individuals  who  possess  the  in- 
tellectual strength  required  for  such  a  task,  and  hence  arise 
so  many  prejudices. 

Let  us  add  one  circumstance  which  makes  a  notable  differ- 
ence between  the  deaths  of  the  guilty  Charles  I.  and  the  in- 
nocent Louis  XVL  An  income  of  £1000  was  assigned  to 
each  of  the  King's  children  who  chanced  still  to  be  in  Eng- 
land. And  more  than  this,  the  Commons  ordered  that 
Charles's  corpse  should  be  buried  at  Windsor  Palace,  in  a 
vault  in  Saint  George's  Chapel  which  already  contained  the 
remains  of  Henry  VIIL  and  of  his  third  queen,  Jane  Sey- 
mour. Six  horses,  covered  with  black  cloth  drew  the  heai-se  ; 
other  coaches  followed,  and  the  Earl  of  Richmotul,  accom- 
panied by  the  Marquis  of  Hertford,  the  Earls  of  Southampton 
and  Lindsey,  Bishop  Juxon,  and  a  few  of  the  King's  attend- 
ants paid  the  last  sad  honors  to  their  former  master. 

To  banish  these  mournful  scenes,  we  will  cjuote  one  of  Ol- 
iver's private  notes.  We  have  need  to  read  it  that  we  may 
recover  from  the  impression  produced  by  the  death-warrant 
of  Charles  I.     With  Cromwell  av  <  pass  suddenly  from  bitter 


98  DEATH    OF    THE    KING. 

to  sweet,  and  from  sweet  to  bitter.  His  son  Richard  had  just 
married ;  and  the  following  letter  addressed  to  the  young  wife 
is  like  soft  music  in  the  midst  of  a  howling  tempest. 

"  To  my  beloved  Daughter,  Dorothy  Cromwell,  at  Hursley  : 
These. 
"  From  aboard  the  John,  I3th  August,  1649. 
"  My  Dear  Daughter, 

"  Your  Letter  was  very  welcome  to  me.  I  like  to  see  any- 
thing from  your  hand ;  because  indeed  I  stick  not  to  say,  I 
do  entirely  love  you.  And  therefore  I  hope  a  word  of  ad- 
vice will  not  be  unwelcome  nor  imacceptable  to  thee. 

"  I  desire  you  both  to  make  it  above  all  things  your  busi- 
ness to  seek  the  Lord :  to  be  frequently  calling  upon  Him, 
that  He  would  manifest  Himself  to  you  in  His  Son  ;  and  be 
listening  what  return  He  makes  to  you, — for  He  will  be 
speaking  in  your  ear  and  in  your  heart,  if  you  attend  there- 
unto. I  desire  you  to  provoke  your  Husband  likewise  there- 
unto. As  for  the  pleasures  of  this  Life,  and  outward  Busi- 
ness, let  that  be  upon  the  bye.  Be  above  all  these  things,  by 
Faith  in  Christ ;  and  then  you  shall  have  the  true  use  and 
comfort  of  them, — and  not  othei'wise.  I  have  much  satisfac- 
tion in  hope  your  spirit  is  this  way  set ;  and  I  desire  you  may 
grow  in  grace,  and  in  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord  and  Savioui" 
Jesus  Christ ;  and  that  I  may  hear  thereof.  The  Lord  is 
very  near :  which  we  see  by  His  wonderful  works  :  and  there- 
fore He  looks  that  we  of  this  generation  draw  near  to  Him. 
This  late  great  mercy  of  Ireland  is  a  great  manifestation 
thereof."  [News  had  just  arrived  that  the  Irish  army  before 
Dublin  had  been  defeated].  "  Your  husband  will  acquaint 
you  with  it.  We  should  be  much  stirred  up  in  our  spirits  to 
thankfulness.  We  much  need  the  spirit  of  Christ  to  enable 
us  to  praise  God  for  so  admirable  a  mercy. 

"  The  Lord  bless  thee,  my  dear  Daughter, 

"  I  rest,  thy  loving  Father, 

"  Oliver  Cromwell." 


DEATH    OK    Tilt:    KINO.  99 

"  I  hear  thou  didst  lately  miscarry.  Prithee  take  heed  of 
a  coach  by  all  means  ;  borrow  thy  Father's  nag  when  thou 
intendest  to  go  abroad."* 

It  is  delightful  to  read  Cromwell's  letters  to  his  children. 
What  wisdom,  what  tender  affection  in  that  we  have  just  se- 
lected !  "  Be  above  all  these  things  by  Faith  in  Christ ;  and 
then  you  shall  have  the  true  use  and  comfort  of  them, — and 
not  otherwise  !"  What  truth  in  these  words  !  What  indica- 
tions of  a  soul  that  has  descended  into  the  depths  of  a  chris- 
tian life  !  And  how  striking  a  contrast  between  the  gentle 
amiability  of  the  postscript  and  the  iron  front  and  stern  eye 
that  we  have  observed  in  him  at  other  times. 

After  the  lung's  death  a  circumstance  occurred  which  we 
cannot  pass  bj'^  unnoticed  before  concluding  this  chapter.  It 
was  one  of  those  acts  which,  says  a  recent  Avriter  most  hostile 
to  Cromwell,  "  were  committed  by  him  against  a  good-na- 
ture, not  in  the  indulgence  of  a  depraved  one."  We  may, 
however,  question  if  it  was  "  against  his  good-nature." 
Charles  was  dead.  In  Oliver's  opinion,  the  life  of  this  prince 
had  been  justly  cut  short ;  but  we  have  seen  how  long  the 
future  Protector  shrunk  from  before  this  terrible  extremity, 
and  how  he  wept  when  the  royal  father  embraced  his  chil- 
dren for  the  last  time.  Cromwell  desired  to  view  the  mon- 
arch's decapitated  body.  His  greatest  adversaries  testify  that 
he  was  not  cruel,  and  if  he  had  reaUy  committed  a  crime, 
would  he  have  sought  so  mournful  a  spectacle  ?  But  there 
was  a  solemn  lesson  in  his  .sovereign's  lifeless  corpse.  He 
opened  the  coffin  himself,  and  sadly  gazed  upon  the  cold  in- 
animate body  without  cruelty,  or  anger,  or  exultation,  but 
witii  reverential  fear  as  he  thought  of  the  judgments  of 
God.  To  Cromwell,  who  liad  so  often  met  it  face  to  face, 
and  had  so  often  braved  it  on  the  battle-iield,  death  had  no- 
thing strange :  it  had  long  been  familiar  to  him.     The  only 

♦  Carlylc,  ii.  46. 


100  DEATH    OF   THE   KING. 

feeling  to  which  he  gave  utterance  was  the  thought  that  death 
had  surprised  Charles  in  a  healthy  state,  and  that  his  body, 
alas  !  had  been  well  made  for  length  of  life.  We  cannot 
doubt  that  Oliver's  soul  was  filled  with  that  solemn  feeling 
which  is  usually  experienced  in  the  presence  of  a  dead  body. 
And  who  was  it  that  lay  before  him  ?  ,  .  .  A  descendant  of 
kings, — a  mighty  prince, — a  ruler  of  three  kingdoms, — who 
had  presumed  to  check  the  new  impulses  that  were  urging 
his  people  onwards  to  liberty  and  truth,  and  who  with  one 
hand  had  torn  the  time-honored  charters  of  the  nation,  while 
he  stretched  the  other  towards  the  despotic  Pope  of  Rome. 
As  he  looked  at  this  King,  now  dead,  what  sensations  must 
have  crowded  into  his  saddened  heart !  Thy  pomp  is  brought 
down  to  the  grave ;  the  worm  is  spread  under  thee,  and  the 
worms  cover  thee.  For  thou  hast  said  in  thine  heart,  I  will 
ascend  into  heaven,  I  will  exalt  my  throne  ahove  the  stars  of 
God  ;  I  will  sit  also  upon  tlie  mount  of  the  congregation,  in 
the  sides  of  the  north.  Yet  thou  shalt  be  brought  down  to  hell, 
to  the  sides  of  the  pit.  They  that  see  thee  shall  narrowly  look, 
upon  thee,  and  consider  thee,  saying.  Is  this  the  man  that 
made  the  earth  to  tremble,  that  did  shake  kingdoms  ?  Crom- 
well before  the  dead  body  of  Charles  I.  is  a  scene  worthy  to 
be  described  by  a  Milton  or  a  Shakspeare,  or  by  some  genius 
still  more  sublime  than  they. 

England  was  not  alone  guilty  of  the  King's  death.  "  The 
powers  of  Europe,"  says  Southey,  "  had  most  of  them  se- 
cretly fomented  the  rebellion,  and  made  no  attempt  to  avert 
the  catastrophe  which  it  brought  about.  France  more  espe- 
cially had  acted  treacherously  towards  the  King."  Claren- 
don complains  bitterly  of  the  apathy  of  the  princes  of  Chris- 
tendom at  this  crisis.  "  The  rebellion  of  subjects  against 
their  prince,"  he  says,  "  ought  to  be  looked  upon  by  all  other 
kings  as  an  assault  of  their  own  sovereignty."*  And  the 
writer  first  quoted  considers  "the  miseries  which  France  has 

•  Rebellion,  book  vi.    See  also  end  of  book  xi. 


UKATII    OK    THE    KING.  101 

undergone,  and  which  Spain  is  undergoing,  and  to  undergo," 
as  so  many  pages  for  man's  instruction,  written  in  what  Lord 
Bacon  has  denominated  Uistoria  Nemesios. 

We  must,  at  least,  i  emember  that  the  execution  of  Charles 
I.  was  the  crime  of  many,  and  renounce  the  prejudices  which 
would  impute  it  solely  to  one  man,  who  sought  so  long  to 
avert  it. 

0* 


CHAPTER    VI 


The  Irish  Saint  Bartholomew — Romish  Cruelties — A  Priest — Surgery  or 
Slaughter — Cromwell's  Appointment — Sailing  of  the  Army — Crom- 
well's Plan — Theocracy — Storming  of  Drogheda,  Wexford,  and  Ross 
— Peace  and  Prosperity — Cromwell's  charge  to  the  Popish  Prelates — 
Early  days  of  Richard  s  Marriage — Cause  of  Ireland's  Sufferings. 

The  Irish  Roman  Catholics,  as  we  have  seen,  had  broken 
out  into  rebellion,  and  massacred  an  incredible  nvmiber  of 
Protestants,  varymg,  according  to  different  accounts,  from 
60,000  to  200,000  victims.  This  was  the  Hibernian  Saint 
Bartholomew.  At  that  time,  the  Roman  Catholics  of  Ireland 
had  no  cause  of  complaint :  Charles  I.  had  taken  care  of 
them.  They  had  their  archbishops,  bishops,  vicars-general ; 
and  above  all,  a  great  number  of  Jesuits.  It  was  in  such  a 
state  of  things  that,  shrouding  themselves  in  the  deepest  se- 
crecy, like  the  West  Indian  negroes  meditating  a  plot  for  the 
massacre  of  the  w^hite  men,  the  Irish  conceived  the  design, 
not  only  of  erasing  from  their  country  every  trace  of  the  Eng- 
lish nation,  and  of  Protestantism,  but  also  of  crossing  over 
into  England,  of  becoming  its  masters,  with  the  aid  of  Spain 
and  of  the  Pope,  and  of  abolishing  the  Reformed  Religion  in 
that  island.  The  massacre  was  frightful ;  and  we  must  recall 
it  to  our  minds  that  we  may  be  able  to  appreciate  with  jus- 
tice the  war  which  re-established  peace  and  order. 

"  On  all  sides,"  writes  a  great  historian,  "  the  Protestants 
of  Ireland  were  attacked  unawares,  ejected  from  their  houses, 
hunted  down,  slaughtered,  exposed  to  all  the  perils,  all  the 


lUELANP.  103 

tortures  that  religious  and  patriotic  hatred  could  invent.  .  .  , 
A  half-savage  people,  passionately  attached  to  its  barbarism, 
....  eager  to  avenge  in  a  day  ages  of  outrage  and  miserj-, 
with  a  proud  joy  committed  excesses  which  struck  their 
ancient  masters  with  horror  and  dismay."* 

In  fact,  the  Catholics  bumt  the  houses  of  the  Protestants, 
turned  them  out  naked  in  the  midst  of  winter,  and  drove  them, 
like  herds  of  swine,  before  them.  If  a.shamed  of  their  nudity, 
and  desirous  of  seeking  shelter  from  the  rigor  of  a  remark- 
ably severe  season,  these  unhappy  wretches  took  refuge  in  a 
barn,  and  concealed  themselves  under  the  straw ;  the  rebels 
instantly  set  fire  to  it  and  burned  them  alive.  At  other 
times  they  were  led  without  clothing  to  be  drowned  in  rivers ; 
and  if,  on  the  road,  they  did  not  move  quick  enough,  they 
were  urged  forward  at  the  point  of  the  pike.  When  they 
reached  the  river,  or  the  sea,  they  were  precipitated  into  it 
in  bands  of  several  hundreds,  which  is  doubtless  an  exagger- 
ation. If  these  poor  wretches  rose  to  the  surface  of  the  wa- 
ter, men  were  stationed  along  the  brink  to  plunge  them  in 
again  with  the  butts  of  their  muskets,  or  to  fire  at  and  kill 
them.  Husbands  were  cut  to  pieces  in  presence  of  their 
wives ;  wives  and  virgins  were  abused  in  the  sight  of  their 
nearest  relations ;  and  infants  of  seven  or  eight  years  were 
hung  before  the  eyes  of  their  parents.  Nay,  the  Irish  even 
went  so  far  as  to  teach  their  own  children  to  strip  and  kill 
the  children  of  the  English,  and  dash  out  their  brains  against 
the  stones.  Numbers  of  Protestants  were  buried  alive,  as 
many  as  seventy  in  one  trench.  An  Irish  priest,  named  Mac 
Odeghan,  captured  forty  or  fifty  Protestants,  and  persuaded 
them  to  abjure  their  religion  on  a  promise  of  (juarter.  After 
their  abjuration,  he  asked  them  if  they  believed  that  Christ 
was  bodily  present  in  the  host,  and  that  the  Pope  was  the 
head  of  the  Church  ?  and  on  their  replying  in  the  affirma- 
tive, he  said.   "  Now,  then,  you  are  in  a  very  good  faith  ;" 

•    Gili7<>»    K.V..1    cl  Ani-l.'l.rrr    i    Cflv?. 


104  IRKLAND. 

and,  for  fear  they  should  relapse  into  heresy,  cut  all  their 
throats.* 

Cruel  fighting,  desperate  violence,  and  frightful  misery,  af- 
flicted the  unhappy  land  during  eight  years.  Armies,  or 
savage  hordes  rather,  full  of  hatred,  disobedience,  and  cru- 
elty, met  and  fought.  Murder,  pillage,  conflagration  wasted 
the  most  fertile  parts  of  Ireland.  Cromwell  was  destined  to 
restore  order  and  peace,  and  give  to  that  country  a  prosper- 
ity which  it  had  not  known  for  many  a  year.  But  how  was 
he  to  attain  this  end  ? 

"  To  those  who  think  that  a  land  overrun  with  sanguinary 
quacks,"  says  one  of  the  Protector's  biographers,f  "  can  be 
healed  by  sprinkling  it  with  rose-water,  these  letters  [of 
Cromwell]  must  be  very  horrible.  Terrible  siu-gery  this : 
but  is  it  surgery  and  judgment,  or  atrocious  murder  merely  ? 
Oliver  Cromwell  did  believe  in  God's  judgments ;  and  did 
not  believe  in  the  rose-water  plan  of  surgery,  in  philanthropic 
sentimentalism He  arrives  in  Ireland  an  armed  sol- 
dier, solemnly  conscious  to  himself  that  he  is  the  soldier  of 
God  the  Just ; — an  aiTned  soldier,  terrible  as  death,  relent- 
less as  doom ;  doing  God's  judgments  on  the  enemies  of 
God !" 

It  will  easily  be  conceived  how  great  were  the  difliculties 
to  be  encountered  in  reducing  Ireland  to  submission ;  and  on 
this  account  few  persons  cared  to  undertake  it.  All  parties 
concurred  in  Cromwell's  appointment  to  the  Lord-lieuten- 
ancy of  that  province,  with  the  supreme  civil  and  military 
authority. 

He  was  deeply  sensible  of  the  importance  of  the  task  Avhich 
devolved  upon  him,  and  appeared  the  next  day  in  Parliament 
full  of  anxiety  and  seriousness.  At  first  he  declared  "  his 
unworthiness  and  disability  to  support  so  great  a  charge ;" 
but,  as  he  was  not  one  of  those  who  shrink  from  a  duty  be- 
cause the  duty  is  difficult,  he  announced  liis  "  entire  resigna- 

*  Sir  J.  Temple,  Irish  Rebellion,  p.  109.     London..  1646. 
t  Oarlyle,  ii.  pp.  52,  53. 


IRELAND,  105 

tion  to  the  commands  of  the  House,  and  liis  absolute  depen- 
dence upon  God's  providence  and  blessing,  from  whom  he 
had  received  so  many  signal  marks  of  favor  and  protection." 

Yet  he  did  not  conceal  the  obstacles  he  shoidd  have  to 
encounter  in  the  mission  conferred  on  him  :  "  That  kingdom," 
said  he,  "  is  reduced  to  so  great  straits  that  I  am  willing  to 
engage  my  own  person  in  this  expedition,  because  of  the  dif- 
ficulties which  appear  in  it ;  and  more  out  of  hope,  with  the 
hazard  of  my  life,  to  give  some  obstruction  to  the  successes 
which  the  rebels  are  at  present  exalted  with.  And  all  that 
I  desire  is,  that  no  more  time  be  lost  in  the  preparations 
which  are  to  be  made  for  so  great  a  work."* 

In  compliance  with  his  wishes,  and  under  his  direction, 
the  Commons  made  incredible  exertions  to  raise  money,  pro- 
vide ships,  and  collect  troops. 

Cromwell  departed  for  Ireland  at  the  head  of  12,000  men. 
Before  they  embarked,  the  troops  observed  a  day  of  fasting 
and  prayer :  tiiree  ministers  solemnly  invoked  the  blessing 
of  God  on  the  expedition ;  and  three  officers,  the  Colonels 
Gough  and  Harrison,  with  the  Lord-lieutenant  himself,  ex- 
pounded certain  pertinent  passages  of  Scripture.  The  army 
was  under  the  strictest  discipline :  not  an  oath  was  to  be 
heard  throughout  the  whole  camp,  the  soldiers  spending 
their  leisure  hours  in  reading  their  Bibles,  in  singing  psalms, 
and  in  religious  conferences. 

Oliver  now  began,  as  a  general,  to  consider  the  plan  he 
ought  to  follow  for  the  restoration  of  order.  Should  he  em- 
ploy a  few  weeks,  with  the  sacrifice  of  5000  men,  or  several 
years,  with  the  loss  of  perhaps  20,000  ?  This  was  an  im- 
portant question.  If  he  took  prompt  and  formidable  meas- 
ures, such  as  were  calculated  to  spread  terror  on  every  side, 
he  would  immediately  check  the  disease.  If,  on  the  con- 
trary, he  proceeded  with  a  light  and  hesitating  hand,  he 
would  prolong  it  indefinitely.  To  Cromwell  the  most  ener- 
getic way  appeared  the  most  humane.  He  acted  as  men 
*  Clarendon,  book  xii. 


106  IREIAKD. 

do  in  a  great  conflagration,  where  the  adjoining  houses  are 
pulled  down  to  save  the  more  remote,  or  as  in  a  hospital, 
where  a  diseased  limb  is  cut  off  to  preserve  the  others. 
Having  weighed  everything,  he  decided  for  the  hand  of  iron. 
That  hand  is  never  amiable  ;  but  yet  there  are  cases  in  which 
it  is  salutary. 

On  the  approach  of  the  general  of  the  English  republic, 
all  the  parties  that  ravaged  Ireland  had  united.  Catholics 
of  different  shades.  Episcopalian  and  Presbyterian  royalists, 
had  rallied  round  Ormond's  standard.  So  that,  at  the  mo- 
ment when  Cromwell  set  foot  in  that  island,  there  remained 
only  two  towns,  Dublin  and  Londonderry,  that  held  for  the 
Commonwealth  ;  both  of  which  were  beleaguered  by  the 
enemy's  troops. 

The  success  of  the  I'epublican  army  was  prodigious. 
"  Oliver  descended  on  Ireland,"  says  Carlyle,  "  like  the 
hammer  of  Thor ;  smote  it,  as  at  one  fell  stroke,  into  dust 
and  ruin,  never  to  reunite  against  him  more." 

We  shall  not  follow  Cromwell  through  all  his  military  ex- 
ploits ;  but  we  must  extract  one  at  least  of  those  terrible 
pages  which  cannot  be  read  without  emotion  and  pain,  but 
which,  as  we  have  observed,  present  this  great  man  to  us  as 
following  the  most  skilful  course  to  arrive  at  a  prompt  and 
universal  pacification.  This  hero,  so  affectionate  towards  his 
friends,  so  tender  to  his  Avife  and  children,  and  then  inflexi- 
ble as  death  before  the  enemies  of  the  Commonwealth,  is  an 
enigma  for  which  we  naturally  seek  a  solution.  One  solu- 
tion readily  offers  itself,  and  I  think  it  is  a  true  one.  We 
should  cease  to  regard  him  in  his  individual  character,  and 
look  upon  him  only  as  a  general  and  a  judge, — the  represen- 
tative of  that  inexorable  Justice  whom  the  pagans  repre- 
sented with  a  bandage  over  her  eyes  and  a  sword  in  her 
hand. 

There  is,  however,  another  solution,  which  explains  not 
only  this  famous  expedition,  but  also  the  whole  of  Crom- 
well's life.     This  great  man  shared  in  the  en-or  which  the 


IHELASD.  107 

Papacy  had  held  during  the  Middle  Ages,  and  which  most 
of  the  Reformers  entertained  during  the  sixteenth  and  seven- 
teenth centuries.  He  did  not  make  a  sufficient  distinction 
between  the  old  and  the  new  covenant,  between  the  Old  and 
the  New  Testament.  He  thought  that  a  Christian,  and  par- 
ticularly a  public  man,  ought  to  seek  his  rules  of  conduct  in 
the  Hebrew  theocracy.  The  terrible  judgments  inflicted  by 
God's  command  on  the  unbelieving  nations  in  the  times  of 
the  judges  and  kings  of  Israel,  appeared  to  him  not  only  to 
authorize  but  to  necessitate  similar  judgments.  He  thought 
that,  like  Moses  and  Joshua,  he  might  slay  Balaam  with  the 
sioord  (Numbers  xxxi.  8  ;  Joshua  xiii.  22).  It  may  be  that 
he  did  not  follow  this  out  explicith' ;  but  it  was  with  this 
prejudice  and  under  this  impulse  that  he  usually  acted. 

This  was  wrong.  The  Jewish  theocracy  existed  no  longer  ; 
and  its  rules  of  conduct  had  been  abolished  with  it. 
The  precepts  which  ought  to  direct  the  life  of  a  Christian 
are  contained  in  our  Saviour's  sennon  on  the  mount  and  in 
other  of  his  discoui-ses,  as  well  as  in  the  writings  of  the 
Apostles.  But  we  may  understand  how  men  of  upright 
mind  easily  took  for  the  guidance  of  their  lives  all  the  decla- 
rations comprised  in  the  Word  of  God,  even  those  which  are 
no  longer  applicable  under  the  change  of  covenant. 

As  soon  as  Ormond  was  informed  of  Cromwell's  arrival, 
he  withdrew  his  army  from  the  neighborhood  of  Dublin,  and 
resolved  to  put  Drogheda  in  a  position  to  resist  the  enemy. 
He  threw  into  this  strong  town  all  the  flower  of  his  army, 
and  gave  the  command  in  Sir  Arthur  Ashtnn,  nn  nflirpr  of 
great  reputation. 

On  the  day  following  the  Lord-lieutenant's  appearance 
before  this  city  he  ordered  a  general  assault,  which  being 
renewed  the  next  morning,  he  entered  it  by  two  different 
breaches.  We  give  the  conclusion  of  his  report  to  Pirlia- 
ment,  dated  Dublin,  17th  September,  1649.* 

"  Divers  of  the  enemy  retreated  into  the  Millmount,  a 
•  Ncwspnpers,  in  Pari.  Hist.,  xix.  201.     Carlyle,  ii.  61. 


108  IRKLAKI*. 

place  very  strong  and  of  difficult  access  ;  being  exceedingly 
high,  having  a  good  graft  [ditch],  and  strongly  palisadoed. 
The  governor,  Sir  Arthur  Ashton,  and  divers  considerable 
officers  being  there,  our  men  getting  up  to  them,  were 
ordered  by  me  to  put  them  all  to  the  sword.  And,  indeed, 
being  in  the  heat  of  action,  I  forbade  them  to  spare  any  that 
were  in  arms  in  the  town  :  and,  I  think,  that  night  they  put 
to  the  sword  about  2000  men ; — divers  of  the  officers  and 
soldiers  being  fled  over  the  bridge  into  the  other  part  of  the 
town,  where  about  100  of  them  possessed  Saint  Peter's 
church  steeple,  some  the  west  gate,  and  others  a  strong 
round  tower  next  the  gate  called  Saint  Sunday's.  These, 
being  summoned  to  yield  to  mercy,  refused.  Whereupon  I 
ordered  the  steeple  of  Saint  Peter's  Church  to  be  fired,  when 
one  of  them  was  heard  to  say  in  the  midst  of  the  flames : 
'  God  damn  me  !     God  confound  me  !     I  burn,  I  bum  !' 

"  The  next  day,  the  other  two  towers  were  summoned  ;  in 
one  of  which  was  about  six  or  seven  score  ;  but  they  refused 
to  yield  themselves ;  and  we,  knowing  that  hunger  must 
compel  them,  set  only  good  guards  to  secure  them  from  run- 
ning away  until  their  stomachs  were  come  down.  From 
one  of  the  said  towers,  notwithstanding  their  condition,  they 
killed  and  wounded  some  of  our  men.  When  they  submit- 
ted, their  officers  were  knocked  on  the  head ;  and  eveiy 
tenth  man  of  the  soldiers  killed  ;  and  the  rest  shipped  for 
the  Barbadoes.  The  soldiers  in  the  other  tower  were  all 
spared,  as  to  their  lives  only  ;  and  shipped  likewise  for  the 
Bai'badoes. 

"  I  am  persuaded  that  this  is  a  righteous  judgment  of 
God  upon  these  barbarous  wretches,  who  have  imbrued 
their  hands  in  so  much  innocent  blood  ;  and  that  it  will  tend 
to  prevent  the  eff'usion  of  blood  for  the  future.  Which  are 
the  satisfactory  grounds  to  such  actions,  which  otherwise 
cannot  but  work  remorse  and  regret." 

It  is  consolatory  to  read  these  words,  which  reveal  to  us 
the  motives  of  the  general's  severity. 


IRELAKU.  109 

"  And  now,"  he  continues,  "  give  me  leave  to 

say  how  it  comes  to  pass  that  this  work  is  wrought.  It  was 
set  upon  some  of  our  hearts,  that  a  great  thing  should  be 

done,  not  by  power  or  might,  but  by  the  Spirit  of  God 

It  was  this  Spirit  who  gave  your  men  courage,  and  took  it 
away  again  ;  and  gave  the  enemy  courage,  and  took  it  away 
again  ;  and  gave  your  men  courage  again,  and  therewith  this 
happy  success.  And  therefore  it  is  good  that  God  alone 
liave  all  the  glory." 

This  extract  will  suffice.  Cromwell  acted  in  Ireland  like 
a  great  statesman,  and  the  means  he  employed  were  those 
best  calculated  promptly  to  restore  order  in  that  unhappy 
country.  And  yet  we  cannot  avoid  regretting  that  a  man, 
a  Christian  man,  should  have  been  called  to  wage  so  terrible 
a  war,  and  to  show  towards  his  enemies  greater  severity 
than  had  ever,  perhaps,  been  exercised  by  the  pagan  leaders 
of  antiquity.  Blessed  are  the  peacemakers :  for  they  shall  be 
called  tJie  children  of  God. 

In  the  midst  of  this  terrible  war,  there  are  actions  which 
elevate  at  once  the  character  of  the  struggle  and  of  the  gen- 
eral in  command.  Is  it  not  a  feature  that  deserves  our  ad- 
miration in  history,  when  we  hear  Cromwell,  after  the  most 
glorious  of  his  victories,  declaring  that  he  will  mention  no 
man  by  name,  because  his  soldiers  fight  for  the  cause  of 
God,  and  not  for  their  own  glory  ?  And  is  it  not  affecting 
to  see  him,  in  his  dispatch  to  Parliament  on  the  taking  of 
Drogheda,  preserve  an  absolute  silence  as  to  his  own  ex- 
ploits, and  abstain  from  relating  that  he  mounted  to  the 
iissault  in  person,  after  his  troops  had  met  with  a  severe 
check,  and  that  the  success  of  this  affair  was  due  to  his  own 
intrepidity  ?  This  certainly  is  not  the  hypocritical  braggart 
whom  some  historians  have  dcscriht'd. 

From  Drogheda  he  marched  to  Wexford,  which  he  sum- 
moned to  surrender.  In  this  county  the  rebels  liad  exer- 
cised more  than  tht'lr  usual  cruelty.  They  had  seized  on 
"  all  the  castles  and  houses  of  the  English,  and  had  driven 

10 


110  IRELAKft. 

them  out  with  their  wives  and  children  stripped  naked." 
They  had  further  proclaimed  that  any  Irish  who  should  har- 
bor or  relieve  an  Englishman,  should  be  put  to  death.*  Just 
as  the  governor  of  the  city  was  on  the  point  of  surrendering 
to  Cromwell's  summons,  the  Earl  of  Castlehaven  brought 
him  a  relief,  which  induced  him  to  hold  out.  The  Lord- 
lieutenant,  being  resolved  not  to  procrastinate,  immediately 
gave  orders  for  the  assault,  and  became  master  of  the  place, 
with  a  loss  to  the  enemy  of  2000  men,  who  Avere  put  to  the 
sword. 

On  the  l7th  of  October  he  appeared  before  Ross.  This 
was  the  third  place  to  which  he  laid  siege.  The  same  day 
he  sent  to  the  commander-in-chief  the  following  summons  : — f 

"  17th  October,  1649. 
"  Sib, 

"  Since  my  coming  into  Ireland,  I  have  this  witness  for 
myself,  that  I  have  endeavored  to  avoid  the  effusion  of 
blood ;  having  been  before  no  place  to  which  such  terms 
have  not  been  first  sent  as  might  have  turned  to  the  good 
and  preservation  of  those  to  whom  they  were  offered ;  this 
being  my  principle,  that  the  people  and  places  where  I  come 
may  not  suffer,  except  through  their  own  wilfulness. 

"  To  the  end  I  may  observe  the  like  course  with  this  place 
and  people  therein,  I  do  hereby  summon  you  to  deliver  the 
town  of  Ross  into  my  hands,  to  the  use  of  the  Parliament  of 
England.     Expecting  your  speedy  answer,  I  rest, 

"  Your  Servant, 

"  Oliver  Cromwell." 

As  the  governor  did  not  immediately  reply  to  this  sum- 
mons, Cromwell  ordered  the  batteries  to  be  prepared.  Or- 
mond,  Ardcs,  and  Castlehaven,  who  were  on  the  other  side 
of  the  river,  threw  1.500  men  into  the  town ;  and  on  the 

•  Lingard,  Hist.  Eng.  x.     Note  A.  ^^  4,  6. 

t  Newspapers  in  Cromwclliana,  67.     Carlyle,  ii,  83, 


IRELANl}.  Ill 

19th  the  heavy  artillery  of  the  English  army  opened  theu" 
fire.  The  Irish  commander,  Lucas  Taaf,  immediately  sent 
out  a  flag  of  truce,  to  which  the  assailants  replied  by  the 
offer  of  favorable  terms ;  That  the  besieged  army  should 
march  out  with  their  arras,  bag  and  baggage,  with  drums 
beating  and  colors  flying  ;  and  the  English  general  promised 
that  the  inhabitants  should  be  permitted  "  to  live  peaceably, 
free  from  the  injury  and  violence  of  the  soldiers." 

The  two  lessons  of  Drogheda  and  Wexford  had  produced 
their  effect.  These  terms  were  accepted.  And  it  was  not 
only  at  Ross  that  the  same  policy  succeeded.  The  arms  fell 
from  the  rebels'  hands  in  every  quarter  of  Ireland,  before  the 
formidable  name  of  Cromwell.  By  the  middle  of  May  the 
whole  country  was  reduced,  with  the  exception  of  one  or 
two  places  which  Ireton  subsequently  captured.  Ormond 
escaped  to  France.  Thus,  by  inflicting  these  two  terrible 
blows  at  Drogheda  and  Wexford,  the  victor  taught  the  mur- 
derers the  necessity  of  submission,  prevented  a  greater  effu- 
sion of  blood,  and  restored  peace  in  Ireland. 

Historians,  even  those  most  opposed  to  Cromwell,  ac- 
knowledge that  no  statesman  ever  did  so  lyuch  as  he  for  the 
good  of  that  poor  countr3\  Public  order  and  security,  such 
as  had  not  been  known  for  many  years,  revived.  The  prov- 
ince of  Connaught,  then  a  vast  desert  district,  was  soon 
changed  into  a  fruitful  country,  and  the  rest  of  Ireland  was 
everywhere  cultivated  with  activity  and  confidence.  In  the 
space  of  little  more  than  two  years,  the  whole  kingdom  was 
covered  with  elegant  and  useful  buildings,  fine  plantations, 
and  new  inclosures.  Peace,  ease,  and  industry  had  returned 
to  that  unhappy  land.  Clarendon,  and  M.  Villemain  after 
him,  cannot  conceal  their  astonishment  at  it ;  and  there  is 
no  impropriety  in  applying  the  rule  of  Scripture  to  Crom- 
well's  conquest  of  Ireland  :  the  tree  is  known  hij  its  fruit. 

We  need  not  wonder  at  these  results,  if  we  call  to  mind 
Milton's  description  of  Cromwell's  soldiers  : — "  He  raised  an 
army  as  numerous  and  wcll-oquipj)i'd   as  was  ever  before 


112  IRELAND. 

done  within  so  short  a  period  ;  lessoned  to  the  most  perfect 
obedience,  high  in  the  affections  of  its  fellow-citizens,  and 
not  more  formidable  to  its  enemies  in  the  field  than  admira- 
ble for  its  behavior  to  them  out  of  it ;  having  so  forborne  all 
injury  to  their  persons  or  properties,  in  comparison  with  the 
violence,  intemperance,  profaneness,  and  debauchery  of  their 
own  royalists,  as  to  make  them  exult  in  the  change,  and  hail 
in  them  a  host  not  of  fiends  but  of  friends  (non  hostes  seel 
hospites :)  a  protection  to  the  good,  a  terror  to  the  bad,  and 
an  encouragement  to  every  species  of  piety  and  virtue."* 
The  model  of  this  armament  was  new,  and  has  never  been 
recovered. 

Oliver  in  Ireland  was  not  content  to  wield  the  sword ;  he 
also  labored  with  the  pen.  He  was  not  only  a  general,  but 
put  himself  forward  as  a  theologian.  The  popish  hierarchy 
of  Ireland  had  assembled  at  Clonmacnoise  in  December 
1649,  where  they  drew  up  a  manifesto.  To  this  he  imme- 
diately replied,  and  his  Declarationf  is  one  of  tlie  most  re- 
markable documents  ever  composed  by  a  soldier.  In  the 
sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries,  the  mental  movement 
was  so  powerful,  that  all  callings  were  confounded  in  one, 
Zwingle  was  a  diplomatist,  almost  a  general ;  and  Oli- 
ver Cromwell  assumed  the  duties  of  a  doctor  in  divinity. 
Let  us  listen  to  a  powerful  protestant  voice ;  the  like  of 
which,  perhaps,  was  not  heard  in  the  seventeenth  century. 

The  Irish  prelates  had  spoken  of  the  Clergy  and  Laity. 
CromAvell  thoufjht  Avith  Luther,  "that  all  Christians  belong 
to  the  spiritual  estate,  and  that  there  is  no  other  difterence 
between  them  than  in  the  functions  they  discharge."  He 
believed  in  the  words  addressed  by  St.  Peter  to  all  believ- 
ers :  ye  are  a  royal  priesthood.  And  accordingly,  on  this 
subject,  the  English  general  administers  a  sharp  lesson  to 
the  popish  prelates  of  Ireland.     He  says  : — 

"  The  subject  of  this  reconciliation  was,  as  they  say,  '  tlie 

*  Virtutis  etiam  omnis  et  pietatis  hortatores.     Defensio  Secunda,  108 
t  Carlyle,  ii.  120—139. 


IRELAM*.  113 

Clerr/y  and  Laity.'  'i'lie  discontent  and  division  itself  was 
grounded  on  the  late  difference  of  opinion  happening  amongst 
the  '  Prelates  and  Laity. ^  I  wonder  not  at  differences  in 
opinion,  at  discontents  and  divisions,  where  so  antichristian 
and  dividing  a  term  as  '  Clergy  and  Laity'  is  given  and  re- 
ceived. A  terra  unknown  to  any  save  the  antichristian 
Cliurch,  and  such  as  derive  themselves  from  her  ;  Ab  initio 
noil  fuit  sic.  The  most  pure  and  primitive  times,  as  they 
best  knew  what  true  union  was,  so,  in  all  addresses  to  the 
several  Cliurches  they  wrote  unto,  not  one  word  of  this. 
The  members  of  the  Churches  are  styled  '  Brethren  and 
Saints  of  the  household  of  Faith  :'  and,  although  they  had 
orders  and  distinctions  amongst  them  for  administration  of 
ordinances, — of  a  far  different  use  and  character  from  yours, 
— yet  it  nowhere  occasioned  them  to  say  confemptim,  and  by 
Avay  of  lessening  in  contra-distinguishing,  '  Laity  and  Clergy.' 
It  was  your  pride  that  begat  this  expression.  And  it  is  for 
lilthy  lucre's  sake  that  you  keep  it  up  ;  that  by  making  the 
people  believe  that  they  are  not  so  holy  as  yourselves,  they 
might,  for  their  penny,  purchase  some  sanctity  from  you ; 
sund  that  you  might  bridle,  saddle,  and  ride  them  at  your 
pleasure  ;  and  do  (as  is  most  true  of  you)  as  the  Scribes  and 
Pharisees  of  old  did  by  their  '  Laity,' — keep  the  knowledge 
of  the  Law  from  them,  and  then  be  able  in  their  pride  to 
say,  '  This  people  that  know  not  the  Law  are  cursed.'  " 

The  prelates  had  declared  that  they  were  "  as  one  body 
united,"  to  forward  by  their  counsels  and  actions  "  the  ad- 
vancements of  his  Majesty's  rights  and  the  Catholic  religion." 
Oliver  will  not  allow  that  men  should  have  recourse  to  car- 
nal means  for  the  advancement  of  religion.  In  this  he 
shows  himself  superior  to  his  age,  and  almost  to  himself: — 

"  And  now  surely  if  these  [the  rights  of  the  Church,] 
that  are  outward  things,  may  not  thus  be  contended  for ; 
liow  much  less  may  the  doctrines  of  Faith,  which  are  the 
works  of  Grace  and  the  Spirit,  be  endeavored  by  so  unsuit- 
able means !     He  that  bids  us  '  contend  for  the  Faith  once 

10* 


114  IRELAND. 

delivered  to  the  Saints,'  tells  us  that  we  should  do  it  by 
'  avoiding  the  spirit  of  Cain,  Corah,  and  Balaam ;  and  by 
'  building  up  ourselves  in  the  most  holy  Faith,'  not  pinning  it 
upon  other  men's  sleeves.  Praying  '  in  the  Holy  Ghost ;' 
not  mumbling  over  matins.  Keeping  '  ourselves  in  the  love 
of  God ;'  not  destroying  men  because  they  will  not  be  of 
our  Faith.  '  Waiting  for  the  mercy  of  Jesus  Christ ;'  not 
cruel,  but  merciful ! — But,  alas,  why  is  this  said  ?  Why  are 
these  pearls  cast  before  you '?  You  are  resolved  not  to  be 
charmed  from  '  using  the  instrument  of  a  foolish  shepherd  !' 
You  are  a  part  of  Antichrist,  whose  kingdom  the  Scripture 
so  expressly  speaks  should  be  '  laid  in  blood  ;'  yea,  '  in  the 
blood  of  the  Saints.'  You  have  shed  great  store  of  that 
already  : — and  ere  it  be  long,  you  must  all  of  you  have 
'  blood  to  drink  ;'  '  even  the  dregs  of  the  cup  of  the  fury 
and  the  wrath  of  God,  Avhich  Avill  be  poured  out  unto 
you.'  " 

The  prelates,  afier  constituting  tlieraselves  the  defenders 
of  the  hierarchy  and  of  the  king,  had  finally  alluded  to  the 
people.  Cromwell  thought  that  in  reality  the  people  were 
the  last  subject  of  their  cares.  He  rallied  them  bitterly  on 
this  point ;  and,  after  reminding  them  of  an  expression  of 
Cardinal  Wolsey's,  he  prophesied  a  futurity,  which  the 
French  Revolution  of  ITSO  has  realized  : — 

"  In  the  last  place,  you  are  pleased, — having  after  your 
usual  manner  remembered  yourselves  first,  and  '  his  Majesty,' 
as  you  call  him,  next ;  like  a  man  of  your  tribe  with  his  £Jgo 
et  Rex  mcus, — you  are  pleased  to  take  the  people  into  con- 
sideration. Lest  they  should  seem  to  be  forgotten  ;  or  rather 
you  would  make  me  believe  they  are  much  in  your  thoughts. 
Indeed  I  think  they  are  !  Alas,  poor  '  Laity !'  That  you 
and  your  king  might  ride  them,  and  jade  them,  as  your 
Church  hath  done,  and  as  your  king  hath  done  by  your 
means,  almost  in  all  ages !  But  it  would  not  be  hard  to 
prophesy.  That,  the  beast  being  stung  and  kicking,  this  world 
will  not  last  always.     Arbitrary  power  is  a  thing  men  begin 


IKKLAND.  116 

to  be  weary  of,  in  kings  and  churchmen ;  their  juggle  be- 
tween them  mutually  to  uphold  civil  and  ecclesiastical  ty- 
ranny begins  to  be  transparent.  Some  have  cast  off  both  ; 
and  hope  by  the  grace  of  God  to  keep  so.  Others  are  at  it ! 
Many  thouglits  are  laid  up  about  it,  which  will  have  their 
issue  and  vent.  This  principle,  That  people  are  for  kings 
and  churches,  and  saints  are  for  the  pope  or  churchmen,  as 
you  call  them,  begins  to  be  exploded  ; — and  therefore  I  won- 
der not  to  see  the  fraternity  so  much  enraged.  I  wish  '  the 
people'  wiser  than  to  lie  troubled  at  yan  :  or  solicitous  for 
Avhat  you  say  or  do.  ' 

The  popish  bishops  had  spoken  of  their  obligations  to  their 
Jlocks.  At  this  word  Cromwell  becomes  indignant ;  his  fea- 
tures flush  up,  and  he  e.xamines  whether  they  are  reaXly  pas- 
tors, and  whether  they  really  have  fioclcs. 

"To  which  last  a  word  or  two.  I  wonder  how  this  rela- 
tion was  brought  about!  If  they  he  'Flocks,'  and  you  am- 
bitious of  the  relative  term?  Yes,  you  are  Pastors;  but  it 
is  by  an  antiphrasis, — a  minirae pascendo  !  You  either  teach 
tlie  people  not  at  all ;  or  else  you  do  it,  as  some  of  you  came 
to  this  conventicle  who  were  sent  by  others,  tanqiiuvi  Pro- 
curatores, — teach  them,  as  your  manner  is,  by  sending  a 
company  of  silly  ignorant  priests,  who  can  but  say  the  mass, 
and  scarcely  that  intelligibly ;  or  with  such  stuff  as  these 
your  senseless  Declarations  and  Edicts  !  But  how  dare  you 
assume  to  call  these  men  your  '  Flocks,'  whom  you  have 
plunged  into  so  horrid  a  rebellion,  by  which  you  have  made 
them  and  the  country  almost  a  ruinous  heap?  And  whom 
you  have  fleeced,  and  polled,  and  peeled  hitherto,  and  make 
it  your  busiiMts  to  do  so  still.  You  cannot  feed  them  !  You 
poison  them  with  your  false,  abominable,  and  antichristiau 
doctrine  and  practices.  You  keep  the  Word  of  God  from 
them  ;  and  instead  thereof  give  them  your  senseless  Orders 
and  Traditions.  You  teach  them  'implicit  belief:' — he  that 
goes  amongst  them  may  find  many  that  do  not  imderstand 
anything  in  thp  matters  of  your  religion      T  hnvp  had  few 


1 16  IBELAXD. 

better  answers  from  any  since  I  came  into  Ireland  that  are 
of  voxir  ri  :-.  'that  indeed  they  did  not  trouble 

them«el'v  -  .  .ers  of  religion,  but  left  that  to  the 

Chorch.'  Thus  are  your  '  Flocks '  fed  ;  and  such  credit  have 
you  of  them.  But  they  must  take  heed  of  '  losing  their  re- 
ligion.'    Ala«,  poor  creatures  I  what  have  they  to  'lose  ?'  " 

The  C  ferred  to  the  dan- 
ger of  se_..,  .  _,  -  ;  :i.  Cromwell  re- 
plies that  you  caimot  extirpate  what  has  never  been  rooted, 
and  that  for  eighty  years  pa  '  '  _  of  mass  had  been 
prohibited  in  Ireland.  He  •  r,  or  at  least  the 
mass,  from  the  privilege  of  religious  liberty.  He  appears  to 
hare  afterwards  changed  his  opinions  on  this  subject,  as  we 
ddall  see  from  a  letter  to  !&Iazarin.     He  continues  thus  : — 

"Fir-"     '  '    ■     '  ■         •  "  wer,  and  the 

Lord  is  J  .     -    -  of  the  mass, 

where  I  can  take  notice  erf  it.  No,  nor  in  any  way  suflFer  you 
that  are  papists,  where  I  can  find  you  seducing  the  people, 
or  by  any  overt  act  violating  the  laws  established  :  but  if  you 
cor::  -  catise  to  h  •       • 

m(-:.--  '^i'-^    '     .    :    :  ■     '^i — to  use  ;.  . 
dum  gravitatem  delicti — upcm  you ;  and  shall  try  to  reduce 
thir.  :■   - '  "'^  ir  former  state  on  this  behalf.    As  for  the  people, 
wL  .  .".3  they  have  in  matters  of  religion  in  their  own 

breasie,  I  cannot  r  :  shall  think  it  my  duty,  if  they 

walk  honestly  and  ,  -  }",  not  to  cause  them  in  the  least 

to  suffer  for  the  same.  And  sludl  endeavor  to  walk  patiently 
and  in  love  towards  them,  to  see  if  at  ar"  time  it  shall  please 
God  to  give  them  another  or  a  better  mind.  And  all  men 
imder  the  power  of  England,  within  this  dominJAp,  are  hereby 
required  and  enjoined  -rrir-rlv  Hnii  religiousTv  rr,  At,  the 
game." 

T-  '         V     _'  '  /  •r.at  the- 

Lo;  .  .  .  _';  to  the 

popish  priests  and  bishops.  He  po^essed  at  one  and  the 
same  time  something:  of  the  characters  of  Joshua  and  Aaron. 


tRKLAXD.  117 

But  he  w;\s  '      1 

at  a  las?  to  v.        ~  > 

real  Chnstiaiuty  can  explain  his  letters  to  his  children.  If 
t'        "   ■  '  .-  -•  -T    :     -  -      '-s^- words  of  religion 

-  can  be  drawn  frcan 
them.     It  is  :.  ^y  sav.     But  when  the  truest 

expressions  of  ' ^ , ..  .y  are  found  in  the  sanctuary  of 

a  father's  heart,  who  but  God  placed  them  there  ? 

Ii.    '  Terrible  campaign  in  Ireland,  in  the 

iate: '  1  war  in  England,  that  was  termi- 

nated by  the  death  oi  the  king,  and  the  war  in  Scotland,  we 
meet  with  a  family  e'^  •  ^  -ne  feature  of  which  has  already 
Ixon  pointed  out.  >  eldest  son  had  iust  married. 

>sedomes- 

r"s.     In  his 

case  the  wish  of  the  ancient  was  realised  :  "  hb  house  is  of 

glass," — a  fort:. '-^umstance,  of  which  the   historian 

should  be  eag> 

While  '  ii  was  preparing  to  embark  for  Irdand, 

Richard  :u.„  ....  :iiy  took  advantage  of  the  sunny  days  of 
July  to  make  their  joyful  marriage  e:scursion.  Oliver,  in 
crx;,-  «-TOte  from  Bristol  (19th  Jul;  :o  the 

Ir.i.-.    -  "I  am  very  glad  to  hear  elfare, 

.iV.vl  that  our  children  hare  so  good  leisure  to  make  a  jonr- 
:-'.•  V  to  eat  cherries: — it's  rery  •  v  ,.c.ki^  in  my  daughter;  I 

-.0  she  mav  have  a  oood  r  -  it!     I  assure  yoo, 

ii'     I 

i  i        ^  '  ™^ ' 

by  which  I  shall  understand  how  all  your  fiunily  doth,  and 

'■  '     V  -  '  Vive  deliTvnd  my  SOB 

.  him :  be  will  need 
it ;  :.  I  beiierv  itMt  yoa  say,  and  will 

be  a- J.  you.     1  v.         .^>senoas:  the  times 

require  it."  Tes.  in  truth,  the  times  did  require  yooi^  men 
:•  V  ^and  so  does  the  presoit  day ! 

\  <.  feared  that  tb«  swvets  of  tuUnwumy  traald 


118  IRELAND. 

have  too  engrossing  a  hold  upon  his  son's  heart ;  and  on  the 
13th  of  August,  1649,  he  again  addressed  his  "loving 
brother,  Richard  Mayor,"  his  son's  father-in-law,  "  from 
aboard  the  John :"  "  I  would  have  him  (Richard)  mind  and 
understand  business,  read  a  little  history,  study  the  mathe- 
matics and  cosmography  : — these  are  good,  with  subordina- 
tion to  the  things  of  God.  Better  than  idleness,  or  mere 
outward  worldly  contents.  These  fit  for  public  services,  for 
which  a  man  is  born."  In  these  little  notes,  we  ever  find 
some  pregnant  sentences. 

On  the  13th  of  November,  1649,  Cromwell  was  at  Ross, 
in  the  very  midst  of  the  war.  He  had  been  ill ;  but  he  still 
thought  of  his  son,  and  never  did  parent  more  earnestly  de- 
sire to  see  his  child  giving  his  whole  heart  to  God.  He 
Avrote  thus  to  Mr.  Mayor  : — "  I  have  been  crazy  in  my  health  • 
but  the  Lord  is  pleased  to  sustain  me.  I  beg  your  prayers. 
I  desire  you  to  call  upon  my  son  to  mind  the  things  of  God 
more  and  more  :  alas,  what  profit  is  there  in  tlie  things  of 
this  world  ? — except  they  be  enjoyed  in  Christ,  they  are 
snares.  I  wish  he  may  enjoy  his  wife  so,  and  she  him  ;  T 
wish  I  may  enjoy  them  both  so." 

Somewhat  later  Oliver  was  filled  with  pleasure.  During 
the  winter  he  had  received  letters  from  his  son,  which  led 
him  to  believe  that  Richard  was  beginning  to  set  his  affec- 
tions on  heavenly  things.  On  the  2d  of  April,  1650,  the 
Lord-lieutenant  wrote  to  Mr.  Mayor  from  Carrick  : — "  I  have 
committed  my  son  to  you  ;  I  pray  counsel  him.  Some  let- 
ters I  have  lately  had  from  him  have  a  good  savor :  the 
Lord  treasure  up  grace  there,  that  out  of  that  treasury 
he  may  bring  forth  good  things." 

But  it  was  to  his  son  in  particular  that  the  Christian  father 
felt  impelled  to  write.  The  same  messenger  conveyed  the 
following  letter  to  Richard  : — 


IRELAND. 


119 


"  For  my  beloved  Son,  Riclmrd  Cromwell,  Esquire,  at  Hurs- 
ley  in  Hampshire  :      These. 

"  Carrick,  2d  April,  1650. 
"  Dick  Cro.m\vkll, 

"  I  take  your  letters  kindly  :  I  like  expressions  when  they 
come  plainly  from  the  heart,  and  are  not  strained  nor 
affected. 

"  I  am  persuaded  it's  the  Lord's  mercy  to  place  you  where 
you  are :  I  wish  you  may  own  it  and  be  thankful,  fulfilling 
all  relations  to  the  glory  of  God.  Seek  the  Lord  and  His 
face  continually  : — let  this  be  the  business  of  your  life  and 
strength ;  and  let  all  things  be  subservient  and  in  order  to 
this !  You  cannot  find  nor  behold  the  face  of  God  but  in 
Christ ;  therefore  labor  to  know  God  in  Christ ;  which  the 
Scripture  makes  to  be  the  sum  of  all,  even  Life  Eternal, 
fiecause  the  true  knowledge  is  not  literal  or  speculative ;  no, 
but  inward,  transforming  the  mind  to  it.  It's  uniting  to,  and 
participating  of,  the  Divine  Nature.  (2  Peter  i.  4) :  '  That 
by  these  ye  might  be  partakers  of  the  Divine  Nature,  having 
escaped  the  corruption  that  is  in  the  world  through  lust.' 
It's  such  a  knowledge  as  Paul  speaks  of  {Philippians  iii.  8-1 0 :) 
•  Yea,  doubtless,  and  I  count  all  things  but  loss  for  the  ex- 
cellency of  the  knowledge  of  Christ  Jesus  my  Lord  :  for 
whom  I  have  suffered  the  loss  of  all  things,  and  do  count 
them  but  dung,  that  I  may  win  Christ,  and  be  found  in  him, 
not  having  mine  own  righteousness,  which  is  of  the  law,  but 
that  which  is  through  the  faith  of  Christ,  the  righteousness 
which  is  of  God  by  faith  :  that  I  may  know  Ilim  and  the 
power  of  His  resurrection,  and  the  fellowship  of  His  suffer- 
ings, being  made  conformable  unto  His  death.'  How  Little 
of  this  knowledge  is  among  us !  My  weak  prayers  shall  be 
for  you. 

"Take  heed  of  an  unactive  vain  spirit!  Recreate  your- 
self with  Sir  Walter  Raleigh's  history  :  it's  a  body  of  history ; 
and  will    add   much  nioro  lo  vour  understanding  than  frag- 


120  IRELAND. 

ments  of  stor3\     Intend  (i.  e.  endeavor)  to  understand  the      j 
Estate  I  have  settled  :  it's  your  concernment  to  know  it  all, 
and  how  it  stands.     I  have  therefore  suffered  much  by  too 
much  trusting  to  othei*s.     I  know  my  brother  Mayor  will  be 
helpful  to  you  in  all  this. 

"  You  will  think,  perhaps,  I  need  not  advise  you  to  love 
your  wife  !  The  Lord  teach  you  how  to  do  it ; — or  else  it 
will  be  done  ill-favoredly.  Though  marriage  be  no  instituted 
sacrament,  yet  where  the  undefiled  bed  is,  and  love,  this 
union  aptly  resembles  that  of  Christ  and  His  Church.  If 
you  can  truly  love  your  wife,  what  love  doth  Christ  bear  to 
His  Church  and  every  poor  soul  therein, — who  '  gave  Him- 
self for  it  and  to  it ! Commend  me  to  your  wife  ;  tell 

her  I  entirely  love  her,  and  rejoice  in  the  goodness  of  the 
Lord  to  her.  I  wish  her  every  way  fruitful.  I  thank  her 
for  her  loving  letter. 

"  I  have  presented  my  love  to  my  sister  and  cousin  Ann, 
&c.,  in  my  letter  to  my  Brother  Mayor.  I  would  not  have 
him  alter  his  affairs  because  of  ni}'  debt.  My  purse  is  as 
his :  my  present  thoughts  are  but  to  lodge  such  a  sum  for 
my  two  little  girls ; — it's  in  his  hand  as  well  as  anywhere. 
I  shall  not  be  wanting  to  accommodate  him  to  his  mind  ;  I 
would  not  have  him  solicitous. — Dick,  the  Lord  bless  you 
every  way.     I  rest  Your  loving  Father, 

"  Oliver  Cromwell."* 

In  July  (1650)  Cromwell,  after  his  return  from  Ireland, 
was  on  his  way  to  Scotland.  His  daughter-in-law  hud  given 
birth  to  a  son,  and  in  these  terms  he  add)'essed  her  father. 

"  J^'or  my  very  loving  Brother,  Richard  Mayor,  Esquire, 
at  his  house  at  Hursley  :   These. 

"  Alnwick,  17th  July,  1C50. 
"  Dear  Brother, 

"  The  exceeding  crowd  of  business  I  had  at  London  is  the 

•  Memoirs  of  the  Protector,  by  O.  Cromwell,  i.  369.  London,  18:^. 
Carlyle  ii.  IGO. 


IRELAKD.  121 

best  excuse  I  can  make  for  my  silence  in  this  way.  Indeed, 
Sir,  my  heart  beareth  me  witness  I  want  no  affection  to  you 
or  yours ;  you  are  all  often  in  my  poor  prayers. 

"  I  should  be  glad  to  hear  how  the  little  Brat  doth.  I 
could  chide  both  father  and  mother  for  their  neglects  of  me : 
I  know  my  son  is  idle,  but  I  had  better  thoughts  of  Doll. 
I  doubt  now  her  husband  hath  spoiled  her ;  pray  tell  her  so 
from  me.  If  I  had  as  good  leisure  as  they,  I  should  write 
sometimes.  If  my  daughter  be  breeding,  I  will  excuse  her ; 
but  not  for  her  nursery  !  The  lord  bless  them.  I  hope  you 
give  my  son  good  counsel ;  I  believe  he  needs  it.  He  is  in 
the  dangerous  time  of  his  age  ;  and  it's  a  very  vain  world. 
O  how  good  it  is  to  close  with  Christ  betimes ;  there  is 
nothing  else  worth  the  looking  after.  I  beseech  you  caL 
upon  him, — I  hope  you  will  discharge  my  duty  and  your 
own  love ;  you  see  how  I  am  employed.  I  need  pity.  I 
know  what  I  feel.  Great  place  and  business  in  the  world  is 
not  worth  the  looking  after ;  I  should  have  no  comfort  in 
mine  but  that  my  hope  is  in  the  Lord's  presence.  I  have 
not  sought  these  things  ;  truly  I  have  been  called  unto  them 
by  the  Lord ;  and  therefore  am  not  without  some  assurance 
that  He  will  enable  His  poor  worm  and  Aveak  servant  to  do 
His  will  and  to  fulfil  my  generation.  In  this  I  desire  your 
prayers.  Desiring  to  be  lonngly  remembered  to  my  dear 
sister,  to  our  son  and  daughter,  to  my  cousin  Ann  and  the 
good  family,  I  rest 

"  Your  very  affectionate  brother, 

"  Oliver  Cromwell."* 

Such  was  Cromwell  as  a  father, — a  model  of  parents. 
Was  he  the  same  in  public  affairs  ? 

In  these  days  he  will  be  severely  reproached  for  his  intol- 
erance of  Popery  in  Ireland.  "  I  shall  not  suffer  the  exer- 
cise of  the  mass,"  he  said.  Let  us  examine  the  matter  seri- 
ously. 

♦  Harris,  p  513      Carlyle.  ii   1T7 
11 


122  IRELAND, 

If  Cromwell  had  truly  at  heart  the  prosperity  of  Ireland, 
it  is  evident  that  he  must  have  desired  to  see  that  country 
renounce  the  mass  and  the  pope. 

Nothing  can  be  more  superficial,  nothing  more  false,  than 
those  opinions  so  prevalent  on  the  Continent,  and  even  in  the 
British  isles,  which  ascribe  all  the  misery  of  Ireland  to  the 
absenteeism  of  the  great  gentry,  to  the  conduct  of  the  Eng- 
lish government,  and  to  other  causes  of  a  similar  nature. 
We  may  admit  that  these  circumstances  have  exerted  a  cer- 
tain influence  on  the  condition  of  this  unhappy  people ;  but 
the  true  source  of  the  evil  must  be  looked  for  elsewhere. 
Can  we  see  the  difference  which  exists  between  episcopalian 
England,  presbyterian  Scotland,  and  popish  Ireland,  and  not 
immediately  perceive  the  origin  of  the  woes  of  the  last 
named  country  ?  Or  will  it  be  pretended  that  the  Irish 
people  are  of  a  race  inferior  to  others  ? 

The  influence  of  religions  is  immense.  Godlhiess  is  profi- 
table unto  all  things,  having  promise  of  the  life  that  now  is, 
and  of  that  which  is  to  come.  It  is  the  priests  who  have  made 
the  Irish  what  they  are ;  or  rather  it  is  a  degrading  religion 
which  has  debased  alike  priest  and  people  ; — a  gross  super- 
stition, a  corrupt  system  of  morals,  ideas  false  and  out  of 
date,  which  have  robbed  this  nation  of  its  energy,  and  engen- 
dered in  it  carelessness,  iniprudence,  and  misery.  Priests, 
degraded  by  error,  have  themselves  degraded  their  poor 
flocks.  We  would  say  nothing  to  diminish  the  responsibil- 
ity of  England  and  of  her  government ;  she  is  great  in  every 
way  ;  but  all  impartial  judges  must  acknowledge,  that  it  is 
from  the  seven-hilled  city  whence  flow  those  torrents  which 
have  inundated  this  interesting  and  unhappy  nation  with 
ignorance,  superstition,  servility,  and  wretchedness,  with 
humiliation,  famine,  pestilence,  and  death.  The  papacy,  by 
vitiating  the  revelations  of  Christianity,  by  establishing  again 
in  the  world  a  sacerdotal  caste,  which  it  was  the  object  of 
the  Gospel  to  abolish  everywhere,  by  retarding  the  nations 
wherever  she  was  dominant,  and  by  keeping  them  in  all 


IKELAND.  123 

respects  in  the  rear  of  the  others, — will  have  to  answer 
before  God  and  man  for  the  poverty  and  sufferings  she  has 
entailed  on  an  island,  which,  before  it  was  subjected  to  the 
pope,  was  at  the  head  of  all  Christian  countries,  and  which 
is  now,  alas  !  at  the  lowest  step  in  the  scale. 

The  Oratorians,*  charmed,  it  would  seem,  by  the  fruits 
which  the  waters  of  Popery  have  produced  in  Ireland,  have 
formed  the  pious  design  of  introducing  them  into  England. 
They  are  digging  at  the  foot  of  the  Quirinal  Hill  to  draw 
from  the  bowels  of  the  earth  the  bitter  water  that  causeth  a 
curse,  and  their  friends  in  England  are  as  earnestly  engaged 
in  making  the  canals  and  reservoirs  for  its  reception.  The 
special  danger  of  their  exertions  consists  in  this  :  the  work- 
men have  been  brought  up  in  the  midst  of  Protestantism, 
whose  light  and  strength  they  are  now  turning  against  it. 
If  it  were  merely  a  question  of  some  few  dirty  and  ignorant 
monks,  such  as  Rome  manufactures  in  Italy,  Spain,  Portu- 
gal, and  elsewhere,  there  would  be  no  cause  for  fear.  But 
these  vermin  will  not  creep  in  until  later,  to  eat  into  the  tree 
aud  destroy  its  fruits.  The  fashionable  Oratorians  have  the 
task  of  clearing  the  way  for  them.  If  the  state  and  the 
church  envy  England  the  condition  of  Ireland,  let  them 
hasten  to  give  their  aid  to  this  noble  project,  conceived  at 
Oxford,  carrying  on  at  Rome,  and  which  will  soon  be  in  ex- 
ecution throughout  England.  But  if  tlie  mi.sery  of  Ireland, 
if  its  dead  and  living  corpses,  iill  their  hearts  with  sorrow 
and  alarm  ;  then  let  church  and  state  act  energetically,  each 
in  its  own  sphere,  and  let  them  labor  camestly  in  building 
dikes  to  stop  the  water  that  cometh  by  the  way  of  Edom,  water 
as  red  as  blood.  A  question  of  suicide  is  now  pending  in 
England.  • 

The  condition  of  other  nations  confimis  these  sad  prog- 
nostications. Portugal,  Spain,  and  lUily  are  sunk  by  their 
clergy  into  the  mire  from  which  they  cannot  extricate  them- 
selves. France  would  be  in  the  .same  state,  if  it  had  not 
*  Mr.  Newman  and  his  fiienda. 


124  IRELAND. 

always  preserved  a  Protestant  element,  which  for  some  time 
was  predominant,  and  which  has  never  entirely  perished. 
And  if  we  desire  to  see  what  Popery  makes  nations  in  these 
days,  Ave  have  only  to  cast  our  eyes  on  Belgium,  which  next 
to  Ireland  is  the  most  popish  country  in  Europe.  We  shall 
find  there  a  fertile  soil,  a  land  offering  immense  resources, 
and  a  people  once  at  the  head  of  European  manufactures 
and  commerce,  but  of  whom  the  fourth  part  is  now  reduced 
to  mendicancy  and  is  dying  of  hunger.  Will  it  be  said  that 
here,  as  in  England,  the  government  is  in  fault  ?  Impossi- 
ble !  for  the  Belgian  government  since  1831  has  been  the 
most  catholic  in  Europe.  In  consequence  of  the  prevalence 
of  Jesuitism  in  that  kingdom,  subsequent  to  the  Revolution, 
the  number  of  priests  has  been  augmented  by  2600.  More 
than  400  convents  have  been  opened,  whence  issue  in  all  di- 
rections Franciscan  friars,  capuchins,  and  other  sluggards  of 
the  same  brood  (we  are  not  aware  if  there  are  any  Orato- 
rians);  and  these  priests  and  monks  have  invaded  everything, 
enslaved  everything. 

The  result  soon  appeared :  Belgian  pauperism  has  taken 
its  place  at  the  side  of  Irish  pauperism  ;  and  in  Belgium  its 
intensity  is  in  direct  proportion  to  that  of  Popery.  The 
wretchedness  is  far  more  aggravated  in  the  Flemish  prov- 
inces, which  are  entirely  subject  to  the  priests,  than  in  the 
Walloon  (French)  provinces,  which  were  once  Protestant, 
and  whose  spirit  is  nearer  that  of  Protestantism.  "  Such," 
says  a  correspondent,*  "  is  the  state  to  which  Belgium  has 
been  reduced  by  the  clerical  party  in  less  than  fifteen  years." 

If  therefore  Oliver  Cromwell  loved  Ireland,  if  he  desired 
its  happiness  and  prosperity,  he  must  have  wished  above  all 
things  to  see  Popery  and  th^  mass  disappear,  and  to  behold 
the  establishment  of  evangelical  Christianity  and  of  the 
Bible.  But  if  his  end  was  good,  were  the  means  he  em- 
ployed good  also  ?  Not  altogether.  Speaking  to  the  lead- 
ers of  the  popish  clergy,  he  said  to  them  : — "  If  you  come 
*  In  the  Paris  Journal.  Lx  NaiiovnH. 


IKELANU.  126 

into  my  hands,  1  shall  cause  to  be  inllicted  the  punishments 
appointed  by  the  laws  on  you."  If  this  was  the  way  of 
proceeding  in  Cromwell's  time,  it  is  no  longer  so  in  ours. 

As  the  Gospel  is  the  only  means  of  saving  Ireland,  how 
then  can  we  impart  to  its  wretched  inhabitants  this  infallible 
remedy  ? 

In  the  first  place,  let  there  be  no  attempt  to  introduce 
either  a  clerical  and  traditional  rehgion,  or  a  rationalist  and 
Unitarian  system.  What  we  must  give  them  is  the  Gospel, 
nothing  but  the  Gospel,  the  entire  Gospel.  Fashionable 
people  may  amuse  themselves  in  their  drawing-rooms  and 
boudoirs  with  Puseyite  or  Socinian  notions ;  but  a  nation  re- 
quires positive  and  living  elements.  Christianity  in  all  its 
simplicity,  with  all  its  richness  and  its  strength,  can  alone 
save  from  this  mortal  sickness. 

If  truth  is  the  first  means,  christian  love  is  the  second. 
Cluirity  never  faileth  :  its  efiect  is  sure,  it  is  a  living  word 
which  shall  never  fall  unto  the  earth.  To  preserve  Ireland, 
there  must  be  a  great  manifestation  of  the  spirit  of  truth  in 
the  fruits  of  christian  love. 

I  will  add,  however,  a  third  means.  A  respectable  eccle- 
aiastical  form  is  necessary  to  encourage  the  poor  Catholics, 
whom  the  calumnies  of  their  priests  perpetually  alarm  with 
the  disunion  and  disorder  of  Protestant  sects.  In  their  house 
of  bondage,  they  have  contracted  certain  wants  which  ought 
to  be  respected.  The  two  Protestant  churches,  which  are 
the  most  numerous  in  Ireland,  the  Episcopalian  and  the  Pres- 
byterian, present  all  that  can  be  desired  ;  but  let  them  be 
rircumspect,  and  walk  together  in  harmony. 

Another  question  here  occurs:  To  gain  the  Irish  people, 
must  we  not  first  pu  out  of  sight  that  which  offends  them, 
break  the  bonds  whii  h  unite  the  Episcopalian  church  to  the 
state,  ind  by  giving  the  former  powerful  community  more 
liberty,  give  it  also  greater  energy  and  life  ? 

An  t-niinent  niinister  of  the  Churcli  of  EinfLiiu!  li.is  clo- 
1  1  ■ 


126  IKELAKD. 

quently  explained  his  views  on  this  point.*  I  can  give  no 
decided  opinion  on  the  question,  as  I  have  not  before  me  all 
the  necessary  elements.  But  it  is  evident,  on  the  one  hand, 
that  the  more  Protestantism  shall  appear  in  that  country  with- 
out those  privileges  which  shock  and  repel  the  Irish  people, 
the  more,  on  the  other  hand,  it  will  be  able  (as  it  ought)  to 
act  with  freedom  and  with  life,  and  the  nearer  also  will  be 
Ireland's  conversion.  We  should  learn  how  to  sacrifice  what- 
ever becomes  unnecessarily  a  stumbling-block  to  our  breth- 
ren. If  thy  right  hand  offend  thee,  cut  it  off,  and  cast  it 
from  thee.  Jesus  Christ  should  be  set  before  this  people ; 
but  He  should  be  without  arms,  without  privileges,  poor, 
meek,  and  lowly  of  heart. 

In  these  thoughts  we  approximate  to  the  ideas  recently 
enunciated  in  connection  with  Ireland  by  one  of  the  most  es- 
timable Christians  and  public  men  in  England.  "  I  will  call 
upon  you,  deserted  as  you  may  have  been  by  men  of  first 
rate  in  the  hierarchy  and  in  the  state,  to  look,  under  God's 

blessing,  to  your  own  exertions  only I  beheve  that 

wherever  good  is  done  on  a  christian  principle,  the  blessing 
of  the  prophet  will  be  found  to  be  realized  almost  literally  • 
the  barrel  of  meal  will  never  fail,  and  the  cruse  will  never  be 
exhausted,  if  there  be  a  blessing  from  on  high."f  We  co- 
incide with  the  worthy  baronet's  sentiments  ;  we  think  that 
we  may  go  still  farther,  and  that  if  it  were  clearly  estab- 
lished that  the  cause  of  evangelical  Protestantism  in  Ireland 
has  been  abandoned  by  the  state,  then  our  own  exertions 
would,  under  God's  blessing,  have  far  more  strength  and  ef- 
ficiency. J^aith  which  worketh  by  love  has  power  in  spiritual 
things  only. 

Such  thoughts  as  these  Avere  not  altogether  foreign  to 
Cromwell.     Although  he  desired  to  have  recourse  to  the 

*  The  Hon.  and  Rev.  Baptist  Noel,  in  his  Letter  to  the  Bishop  of 
Cashel. 

t  Sir  Robert  Inglis,  Speech  at  the  Annual  Meeting  of  the  London 
Hibernian  Society,  l8th  May,  1847. 


IRELAND.  12Y 

law  against  the  chiefs  of  Popery,  he  was  willing  to  behave 
very  differently  towards  the  people.  We  cannot  forbear 
transcribing  once  more  those  noble  words  of  his,  which  are 
worthy  of  being  repeated  by  the  Crown  of  England  in  the 
nineteenth  century  : — "  As  for  the  people,  what  thoughts 
they  have  in  matters  of  religion  in  their  own  breasts  I  can- 
not reach ;  but  shall  think  it  my  duty,  if  they  walk  honestly 
and  peaceably,  not  to  cause  them  in  the  least  to  suffer  for 
the  same.  And  shall  endeavon  to  walk  patiently  and  in  love 
towards  them,  to  see  if  at  any  time  it  shall  please  God  to 
give  them  another  or  a  better  mind.  And  all  men  under 
the  power  of  England,  within  this  dominion,  are  hereby  re- 
quired and  enjoined  strictly  and  religiously  to  do  the  same." 

This  is  the  remedy.  "  Be  wise  now,  therefore,  0  ye 
kings;  be  instructed,  ye  judges  of  the  earth."  (Is.  ii.  10.) 
Let  the  ministers  and  parliament  of  England  do  all  that  is 
possible  for  them  to  do,  and  even  more,  to  alleviate  the  mis- 
ery of  the  sister  country.  God  and  Europe  will  demand  an 
account  of  them.  But  for  what  is  not  in  their  power  they 
will  never  be  called  to  a  reckoning.  So  long  as  her  friends 
look  to  governmental  measures  only  for  a  remedy  adapted  to 
heal  the  wounds  of  this  people,  Ireland  will  always  be  that 
"  certain  woman,  which  had  an  issue  of  blood  twelve  years, 
and  had  suffered  many  things  of  many  physicians,  and  had 
spent  all  that  she  had,  and  was  nothing  bettered,  but  rather 
grew  worse."  (Mark  v.  25,  26.)  One  means  alone  can 
save  her,  as  it  saved  this  woman ;  and  that  will  be,  as  soon 
as  she  shall  have  heard  of  Jesus  ami  touched  his  garment. 
Then,  after  Popery  has  disappeared  from  her  unhappy  soil, 
site  will  feel  in  her  body  that  she  is  liealed  of  that  j^lague. 

Cromwell  returned  to  London  in  the  month  of  May,  and 
was  received  by  the  Parliament  and  people  "  as  a  soldier  who 
had  gained  more  laurels,  and  done  more  wonders  in  nine 
months,  than  any  age  or  history  could  parallel."* 

•  Noale,  History  of  the  Puritans,  ii.  554.     London,  1837. 


i 


CHAPTER    VII. 

SCOTLAND. 

Two  Kings  and  two  Loyalties — Charles  II.  in  Scotland — Cromwell's 
Letter  to  the  General  Assembly  and  to  the  Scotch  Commander  in 
Chief— Battle  of  Dunbar — Dispatch  to  Parliament — The  Edinburgh 
Preachers  in  the  Castle — Cromwell's  Letter — All  Christians  ought  to 
preach  Christ — The  Malignanls — Cromwell's  Illness — Two  Letters — 
Cromwell  concerning  his  son  Richard — Worcester — Prosperity  of 
Scotland — Cromwell's  Military  Career — Two  Symbols. 

The  Scots  had  begun  the  great  movement  whose  object 
was  at  once  to  resist  the  tyranny  of  the  Stuarts  and  the 
tyranny  of  Rome,  and  which  was  destined  to  result  in  incal- 
culable consequences  for  Europe.  But  now  they  retraced 
their  steps,  and  put  themselves  in  opposition  to  the  Com- 
monwealth of  England.  They  wanted  a  leader.  "  With 
Oliver  Cromwell  born  a  Scotchman,"  says  Carlyle;  "  with  a 
Hero  King  and  a  unanimous  Hero  Nation  at  his  back,  it 
might  have  been  far  otherwise.  With  Oliver  born  Scotch, 
one  sees  not  but  the  whole  world  might  have  become 
Puritan."* 

Without  shutting  our  eyes  to  the  truth  there  may  be  in 
this  passage,  we  find  the  cause  of  this  northern  war  else- 
where. In  spiritual  things  the  Scots  acknowledged  Jesus 
Christ  as  their  king ;  in  temporal,  they  recognized  Charles 
the  Second.  They  had  no  wish  that  the  latter  should  usurp 
the  kingdom  of  the  former ;  but  they  also  had  no  desire  that 
Cromwell  should  seize  upon  the  Stuarts'  throne.  They  pos- 
sessed a  double  loyalty — one  towards  the  heavenly  king,  and 
*  Letters  and  Speeches,  ii.  169. 


SCOTLAND,  129 

another  to  their  eartlily  sovereign.  They  had  cast  oflF  the 
abuses  of  the  latter,  but  not  the  monarchy  itself.  They  ac- 
cordingly ijivited  the  prince,  who  was  then  in  Holland,  to 
come  to  Scotland,  and  take  possession  of  his  kingdom.  We 
may  believe  that  this  was  a  great  fault  and  a  great  misfor- 
tune :  we  may  regret  that  loyal  men  should  have  carried 
their  fidelity  so  far  as  to  biing  the  youthful  monarch  from 
the  midst  of  the  debaucheries  in  which  he  was  indulging  at 
Breda,  to  replace  him  on  the  throne  of  his  fathers.  This 
rendered  a  second  revolution  necessary  :  and  yet  we  cannot 
forbear  respecting  the  Scots  even  in  this  their  error. 

Charles  at  this  time  was  conniving  at  Montrose,  who  was 
spreading  desolation  throughout  Scotland  ;  and  the  young 
king  hoped  by  his  means  to  recover  a  throne  without  having 
to  take  upon  himself  any  embarrassing  engagement.  But 
when  the  marquis  was  defeated,  he  determined  to  surrender 
to  the  Scottish  parliament.  One  circumstance  had  nearly 
caused  his  ruin.  Among  Montrose's  papers  was  found  a 
commission  from  the  king,  giving  him  authority  to  levy  troops 
and  subdue  the  country  by  force  of  arms.  The  indignant 
parliament  immediately  recalled  their  commissioners  from 
Holland  ;  but  the  individual  to  whom  the  order  was  ad- 
dressed treacherously  concealed  the  document  from  his  col- 
leagues, and  by  showing  it  to  none  but  the  prince,  gave  him 
to  understand  that  he  could  no  longer  safely  temporize. 
Charles  being  thus  convinced  hunicd  on  board,  and  set  sail 
for  Scotland,  attended  by  a  train  of  unprincipled  men.  The 
most  serious  thinkers  in  the  nation  saw  that  they  could 
expect  little  else  from  him  than  duplicity,  treachery,  and 
licentiousness.  It  ha.s  been  said  that  the  Scotch  compelled 
Charles  to  adopt  their  detested  Covenant  voluntarily.  Most 
certainly  the  political  leaders  cannot  be  entirely  exculpated 
of  this  charge  ;  but  it  was  not  so  with  the  religious  part  of 
the  government.  \Vlien  he  declared  his  readiness  to  sign 
that  deed  on  board  the  ship,  even  before  he  landed,  Livings- 
ton, who  do'vbted  his  sincerity,  begged  him  to  wait  until  he 


130  gCOTLA.VD. 

had  reached  Scotland,  and  given  satisfactory  proofs  of  his 
good  faith.  But  it  was  all  to  no  effect ;  and  when  again,  at 
Dunfermline,  Charles  wished  to  append  his  signature  to  a 
new  declaration,  by  which  he  renounced  popery  and  episco- 
pacy, and  asserted  that  he  had  no  other  enemies  than  those 
of  the  Covenant,  the  Rev.  Patrick  Gillespie  said  to  him : 
"  Sire,  unless  in  yoiu*  soul  and  conscience  you  are  satisfied, 
beyond  all  hesitation,  of  the  righteousness  of  this  declaration, 
do  not  subscribe  it :  no,  do  not  subscribe  it,  not  for  the  three 
kingdoms."      "  Mr.   Gillespie,   Mr.    Gillespie,"  replied   the 

king,  "  I  am  satisfied,  I  am  satisfied  ; and  therefore 

will  subscribe."* 

If  Charles  Stuart  had  thought  of  ascending  his  native 
throne  only,  Cromwell  and  the  English  would  have  remained 
quiet ;  but  he  aimed  at  the  recovery  of  the  three  kingdoms, 
and  the  Scotch  were  disposed  to  aid  him.  OHver  imme- 
diately saw  the  magnitude  of  the  danger  which  threatened 
the  religion,  liberty,  and  morals  of  England,  and  did  not 
hesitate. 

On  the  26th  of  June,  1650,  he  was  appointed  commander- 
in-chief  of  all  the  armies  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  set  out 
immediately. 

Cromwell's  feelings,  as  he  marched  against  Scotland,  were 
different  from  those  which  had  led  him  to  Ireland.  To  him. 
the  people  were  brethren — brethren  who  had  gone  astray 
when  they  invited  over  the  licentious  Charles  II.  That  coun- 
try was  afterwards  to  feel,  by  twenty-eight  years  of  hor- 
rible persecution  (from  1660  to  1688),  that  the  Protector 
was  not  deceived.  Ohver  determined  to  do  all  in  his  power 
to  restore  Scotland  to  herself. 

It  was  Cromwell's  behef  that,  if  sin  had  divided  men  and 
nations  against  one  another,  the  aim  of  Christianity  was  to 
bring  together  all  the  families  of  the  earth,  and  establish 
unity  among  them.     He  thought  that  the  Gospel,  by  sancti- 

*  Hetherington,  History  of  the  Church  of  Scotlard,  117.  Edin- 
burgh, 1843, 


SCOTLAND.  191 

fying  the  people,  would  make  them  one  vast  community  of 
brethren.  Wherever  he  saw  disciples  of  Christ,  there  his 
heart  beat  for  them.  It  was  therefore  a  remarkable  and  a 
sorrowful  spectacle  which  might  then  be  viewed  on  the  bor- 
ders of  Scotland, — one  Christian  army  advancing  against 
another  Christian  army  !  This  sight,  no  doubt,  has  been  too 
often  witnessed  in  history.  But  in  most  cases  the  troopa 
which  march  against  each  other  are  Christian  only  in  name, 
while  the  two  forces  of  Scotland  and  of  England  possessed, 
to  speak  generally,  both  the  spirit  and  the  reality  of  Chris- 
tianity. 

This  was  a  misfortune.  Cromwell  remembered  that 
although  a  Christian  may  be  sometimes  summoned  to  war, 
he  should  at  least  cast  aside  all  hatred,  and  ever  be  inclined 
towards  peace.  He  sent  letters  accordingly  both  to  the 
general  assembly  and  to  the  commander-in-chief:  to  the 
latter  of  whom  he  wrote  as  follows  : — 

"  For  the  Right  Honorable  David  Lesley,  Lieutenant-general 
of  the  Scots  Army :     These. 

"  From  the  Camp  at  Pentland  HQk, 
14th  August,  1650. 
"  Sir, 

"  I  received  yours  of  the  18th  instant,  with  the  paper  you 
mentioned  therein,  inclosed, — which  I  caused  to  be  read  in 
the  presence  of  so  many  officers  as  could  well  be  gotten  to- 
gether ;  to  which  your  Trumpet  can  witness.  We  return 
you  this  answer ;  by  which  I  hope,  in  the  Lord,  it  will  ap- 
pear that  we  continue  the  same  we  have  professed  ourselvee 
to  the  Honest  People  in  Scotland ;  wishing  to  them  as  to 
our  own  souls  ;  it  being  no  part  of  our  business  to  hinder  ? 
any  of  them  from  worshipping  God  in  that  way  they  are 
satisfied  in  their  consciences  by  the  Word  of  God  thejr 
ought,  though  different  from  us. 

"But  that  under  the  pretence  of  the  Covenant,  mistaken, 
and  wrested  from  the  most  native  intent  and  equity  thereof. 


182  SCOTLAJfl), 

a  King  should  be  taken  in  by  you,  to  be  imposed  upon  us ; 
and  this  be  called  '  the  cause  of  God  and  the  kingdom ;' 
and  this  done  upon  '  the  satisfaction  of  God's  people  in  both 
nations,'  as  is  alleged, — together  with  a  disowning  of  Ma- 
lignants  ;  although  he  [Charles  Stuart]  who  is  the  head  of 
them,  in  whom  all  their  hope  and  comfort  lies,  be  received  ; 
who,  at  this  very  instant,  hath  a  Popish  army  fighting  for 
and  under  him  in  Ireland ;  hath  Prince  Rupert,  a  man  who 
hath  had  his  hand  deep  in  the  blood  of  many  innocent  men 
of  England,  now  in  the  head  of  our  ships,  stolen  from  us 
upon  a  Malignant  account ;  hath  the  French  and  Irish  ships 
daily  making  depredations  on  our  coasts ;  and  strong  com- 
binations by  the  Malignants  in  England,  to  raise  armies  in 
our  bowels,  by  virtue  of  his  commissions,  who  hath  of  late 
issued  out  very  many  to  that  purpose : — How  the  Godly  in- 
terest you  pretend  you  have  received  him  upon,  and  the 
Malignant  interests  in  their  ends  and  consequences  all  center- 
ing in  this  man,  can  be  secured,  we  cannot  discern. 

"  And  how  we  should  believe,  that  whilst  known  and  no- 
torious Malignants  are  fighting  and  plotting  against  us  on  the 
one  hand,  and  you  declaring  for  him  on  the  other,  it  should 
not  be  an  '  espousing  of  a  ^Malignant  party's  Quarrel  or  In- 
terest ;'  but  be  a  mere  '  fighting  upon  former  grounds  and 
principles,  and  in  defence  of  the  cause  of  God  and  the  king- 
doms, as  hath  been  these  twelve  years  last  past,'  as  you 
say  :  how  this  should  be  '  for  the  security  and  satisfaction  of 
God's  people  in  both  nations ;'  or  how  the  opposing  of  this 
should  render  us  enemies  to  the  Godly  with  you,  we  cannot 
well  understand 

"  And  if  our  hope  be  not  in  the  Lord,  it  will  be  ill  with  us. 
We  commit  both  you  and  ourselves  to  Him  who  knows  the 
heart,  and  tries  the  reins ;  with  whom  are  all  our  ways ; 
who  is  able  to  do  for  us  and  you  above  what  we  know : 
which  we  desire  may  be  in  much  mercy  to  His  poor  people, 
and  to  the  glory  of  His  great  name. 

"  And  having  performed  your  desire,  in  making  your  pa- 


acOTLAND,  133 

pcrs  so  public,  as  is  before  expressed,  I  desire  you  to  do  the 
like,  by  letting  the  State,  Kirk,  and  Array  have  the  knowl- 
edge hereof.  To  which  end  I  have  sent  you  inclosed  two 
copies  of  this  letter ;  and  rest 

"  Your  humble  servant, 

"  Oliver  Cromwell."* 

It  was  not  until  after  great  trials — until  after  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  constitution  of  the  church,  and  the  slavery  of  the 
people — until  the  blood  of  numerous  martyrs  had  been 
poured  forth  like  water,  that  Scotland  understood  the  truth 
of  Cromwell's  words.  « 

The  Scots  marched  against  the  Eiiglisli  army.  Cromwell 
at  first  retreated  before  them ;  but  seizing  the  opportunity 
when  they  had  quitted  a  favorable  position,  he  attacked  them 
at  Dunbar  on  the  3d  of  September.  This  was  one  of  Crom- 
well's most  important  victories.  It  placed  Scotland  at  his 
feet.  The  Scots'  word  was  The  Covenant;  Cromwell's, 
The  Lord  of  Hosts.  He  took  10,000  prisoners,  besides 
ofiBcers.  His  heart  was  filled  with  gratitude  towards  God  ; 
but  even  while  at  the  head  of  the  army,  Oliver  did  not  lose 
sight  of  the  civil  order  and  prosperity  of  England  :f — 

"  Thus  you  have  the  prospect  of  one  of  the  most  signal 
mercies  God  hath  done  for  England  and  his  people,"  said 
the  commander-in-chief  in  his  dispatch  to  Parliament.  "By 
th.^t>e  eminent  mercies,  God  puts  it  more  into  your  hands,  to 
give  glory  to  him.  We  that  serve  you,  beg  of  you  not  to 
own  us — but  God  alone.  We  pray  you,  own  his  people 
more  and  more  ;  for  they  are  the  chariots  and  horsemen  of 
Israel.  Disown  yourselves  ; — but  own  your  authority  ;  and 
improve  it  to  curb  the  proud  and  the  insolent,  such  as  would 
disturb  the  tranquillity  of  England,  though  under  what  spe- 
cious pretences  soever.  Relieve  the  oppressed,  hear  the 
groans  of  poor  prisoners  in  England.     Be  pleased  to  reform 

•  Newspapers,  Pari.  H.  xix.  331.     Carlyle,  ii.  191-193. 
t  Newipapen  in  Cromwelliana,  p.  87.     CarlyU,  ii.  917. 
12 


134  SCOTLAND, 

the  abuses  of  all  professions  :■ — and  if  there  be  any  one  that 
makes  many  poor  to  make  a  few  rich,  that  suits  not  a  Com- 
monwealth. [Oliver  here  glances  at  the  lawyers.]  If  He 
that  strengthens  your  servants  to  fight,  please  to  give  your 
hearts  to  set  upon  these  things,  in  order  to  His  glory,  and 
the  glory  of  your  Commonwealth,— then,  besides  the  bene- 
fit England  shall  feel  thereby,  you  shall  shine  forth  to  other 
Nations,  who  shall  emulate  the  glory  of  such  a  pattern,  and 
through  the  power  of  God  turn  into  the  like. 

"  These  are  our  desires.  And  that  you  may  have  Ubcrty 
and  opportunity  to  do  these  things,  and  not  be  hindered,  we 
have  been  »nd  shall  be  (by  God's  assistance)  willing  to  ven- 
ture our  lives. 

"  Since  we  came  in  Scotland,  it  hath  been  our  desire  and 
longing  to  have  avoided  blood  in  this  business ;  by  reason 
that  God  hath  a  people  here  fearing  His  name,  though  de- 
ceived. And  to  that  end  have  we  offered  much  love  unto 
such,  in  the  bowels  of  Christ ;  and  concerning  the  truth  of 
our  hearts  therein,  have  we  appealed  unto  the  Lord.  The 
Ministers  of  Scotland  have  hindered  the  passage  of  these 
things  to  the  hearts  of  those  to  whom  we  intended  them. 
And  now  we  hear,  that  not  only  the  deceived  people,  but 
some  of  the  Ministers  are  also  fallen  in  this  battle.  This  is 
the  great  hand  of  the  Lord,  and  worthy  of  the  consideration 
of  all  those  who  take  into  their  hands  the  instruments  of  a 
foolish  shepherd, — to  wit,  meddling  with  worldly  policies, 
and  mixtures  of  earthly  power,  to  set  up  that  which  tney 
call  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  and  neglect,  or  trust  not  to,  the 
Word  of   God,  the  Sword  of   the  Spirit ;  which  is  alone 

powerful  and  able  for  the  setting  up  of  that  Kingdom 

Oh,  that  they  might  return  again  to  preach  Jesus  Christ, 
according  to  the  simpUcity  of  the  Gospel ; — and  then  no 
doubt  they  will  discern  and  find  your  protection  and  encour- 
agementv 

"  Your  most  obedient  servant, 

"  Olivbr  Cromwbll.'* 


tcoTLAiio.  lad 

One  of  the  general's  proclamations  issued  on  the  field  of 
battle  breathes  such  humanity  towards  the  Scots,  that  it  de* 
serves  to  be  introduced  here  : — * 

"  PROCLAMATION. 

"  Forasmuch,  as  I  understand  there  are  several  soldiers 
of  the  enemy's  army  yet  abiding  in  the  field,  who  by  reason 
of  their  wounds  could  not  march  from  thence  ; 

"  These  are  therefore  to  give  notice  to  the  inhabitants  of 
this  nation,  That  they  may  have,  and  hereby  have,  free  lib- 
erty to  repair  to  the  field  aforesaid ;  and,  with  their  carts  or 
in  any  other  peaceable  way,  to  carry  away  the  said  soldiers 
to  such  places  as  they  shall  think  fit : — provided  they  med- 
dle not  with,  or  take  away,  any  of  the  arms  there.  And  all 
oflBcers  and  soldiers  are  to  take  notice  that  the  same  is  per- 
mitted. 

"  Given  under  my  hand,  at  Dunbar,  4th  September,  1650. 

"  Oliver  Cromwell." 

The  same  day  Cromwell  wrote  to  his  son-in-law  Ireton, 
whom  he  had  left  as  deputy-lieutenant  in  Ireland. f  This 
letter  also  proves  Cromwell's  affection  for  the  Scotch. 

"To  Lieutenant-general  Jretoii,  Deputy -lieutenant  of  Ireland : 
These. 

"  Dunbar,  4th  September,  1650. 
"  Sir, 
"  Though  I  hear  not  often  from  you,  yet  I  know  you  for- 
get me  not.  Think  so  of  me  too ;  for  I  often  remember  you 
at  the  Throne  of  Grace.  I  heard  of  the  Lord's  good  hand 
with  you  in  reducing  Waterford,  Duncannon  and  Carlow  : 
His  name  be  praised. 

•  Carlylc,  u.  209. 

t  lusscli's  Cromwell,  toI.  xlvli.  of  CoiuUble's  MU  ellany,  317.  Caz- 
lyle,  h.  255.  _ 


186  8C0TLAND, 

"  We  have  been  engaged  upon  a  service  the  fullest  of  trial 
ever  poor  creatures  were  upon.  We  made  great  professions 
of  love;  knowing  we  were  to  deal  with  many  who  were 
godly,  and  who  pretended  to  be  stumbled  at  our  invasion  : 
indeed  our  bowels  were  pierced  again  and  again ;  the  Lord 
helped  us  to  sweet  words,  and  in  sincerity  to  mean  them. 
We  were  rejected  again  and  again ;  yet  still  we  begged  to  be 
believed  that  we  loved  them  as  our  own  souls ;  they  often 
returned  evil  for  good.  We  prayed  for  security  [against 
Charles  Stuart's  designs  upon  England] :  they  would  not 
hear  or  answer  a  word  to  that.  We  made  often  appeals  to 
God  ;  they  appealed  also.  We  were  near  engagements  three 
or  four  times,  but  they  lay  upon  advantages.  A  heavy  flux 
fell  upon  our  army ;  brought  it  very  low,  from  fourteen  to 
eleven  thousand :  three  thousand  five  hundred  horse,  and 
seven  thousand  five  hundred  foot,  the  enemy  sixteen  thou- 
sand foot,  and  six  thousand  horse." 

On  the  same  day,  the  morrow  after  the  battle,  Cromwell 
wrote  to  his  wife.  His  letter  is  brief,  but  full  of  piety  and 
aJQfection : — 


"  For  my  beloved  Wife,  Elizabeth  Cromwell,  at  the  Cockpit  :* 
These. 

"  Dunbar,  4th  September,  1650. 
"  My  Dearest, 
"  I  have  not  leisure  to  write  much.  But  I  could  chide 
thee  that  in  many  of  thy  letters  thou  writest  to  me,  that  I 
should  not  be  unmindful  of  thee  and  thy  little  ones.  Truly, 
if  I  love  you  not  too  well,  I  think  I  err  not  on  the  other  hand 
much.  Thou  art  dearer  to  me  than  any  creature ;  let  that 
suffice. 

*  The  Cockpit  was  then  and  long  afterwards  a  sumptuous  roya^ 
lodging  in  Whiteliall ;  Henry  the  Eighth's  place  of  cock-figb' ing. 
Cromwell's  fam'  y  removed  thither,  by  vo'e  of  the  Commons,  <?  jring 
the  Irish  campf  .gn.    The  present  Privy-coui^l  office  is  built  on  .ts  site. 


»(JWILA.NW. 


137 


"The Lord  had  showed  us  an  exceeding  mercy  ; — who  can 
tell  how  it  is  !  My  weak  faith  hath  been  upheld.  I  have 
been  in  my  inward  man  marvellously  supported ; — though  I 
assure  thee,  I  grow  an  old  man,  and  feel  infirmities  of  age 
marvellously  stealing  upon  me.  Would  ray  corruptions  did 
as  fast  decrease  !  Pray  on  my  behalf  in  the  latter  respect. 
The  particulars  of  our  late  success,  Harry  Vane  or  Gilbert 
Pickering  will  impart  to  thee.  My  love  to  all  dear  friends. 
I  rest  thine, 

"  Oliver  Cromwell."* 

The  Protector  now  advanced  to  Edinburgh.  Part  of  the 
Scotch  army  had  retired  into  the  castle  built  on  the  precipi- 
tous rocks  which  rise  in  the  midst  of  that  beautiful  city. 
The  ministers  of  the  town  also  had  taken  refuge  in  the  same 
fortress.  Cromwell  immediately  informed  the  governor  that 
he  would  permit  the  pastors  to  come  down  and  preach  in  their 
respective  churches,  without  being  in  any  manner  disquieted. 
The  ministers  replied  that  they  were  fearful  of  persecution, 
and  could  not  accept  his  offer.    The  following  is  his  answer : — f 

"  For  the  Honorable  the  Governor  of  the  Castle  of  Edinburgh : 
These. 

"  Edinburgh,  9th  September,  1650. 

"  Sir, 

"  The  kindness  offered  to  the  ministers  with  you  was  done 
with  ingenuity  [ingenuously],  thinking  it  might  have  met 
with  the  like.  If  their  Master's  service  (as  they  call  it)  were 
chiefly  in  their  eye,  imagination  of  suffering  would  not  have 
caused  such  a  return. 

"  The  ministers  in  England  are  supported,  and  have  liberty 
to  preach  the  Gospel ;  though  not  to  rail,  nor,  under  pre- 
tence thereof,  to  overtop  the  Civil  Power,  or  debase  it  as 
they  please.     No  man  hath  been  troubled  in  England  or 

•  Carlyle,  ii.  223. 
t  Thurloe,  i.  159.     Carlyle,  ii.  232 
12* 


1S8  BCOTLAND. 

Ireland  for  preaching  the  Gospel ;  nor  has  any  minister  been 
molested  in  Scotland  since  the  coming  of  the  army  hither. 
The  speaking  truth  becomes  the  ministers  of  Christ.  When 
ministers  pretend  to  a  glorious  Reformation,  and  lay  the 
foundations  thereof  in  getting  to  themselves  worldly  power, 
they  may  know  that  the  Sion  promised  will  not  be  built  with 

such  untempered  mortar 

"  I  have  nothing  to  say  to  you  but  that  I  am, 
"  Sir, 
"  Your  humble  servant, 

"  Oliver  Cromwell." 

"  The  Scotch  clergy,"  says  Carlyle,  "  never  got  such  a 
reprimand  since  they  first  took  ordination." 

On  the  12th  of  September,  Cromwell  sent  another  letter 
to  the  governor,*  to  refute  the  complaints  made  by  the  in- 
habitants, and  particularly  by  the  ministers. 

"You  say,"  Avrites  Oliver,  "j^ou  regret  that  men  of  civil 
employments  should  usurp  the  calling  and  employment  of 
the  ministry  ;  to  the  scandal  of  the  Reformed  Kirks. — Are 
y<Bu  troubled  that  Christ  is  preached  ?  Is  preaching  so  ex- 
clusively your  function  ?  Doth  it  scandalize  the  Reformed 
Kirks,  and  Scotland  in  particular  ?  Is  it  against  the  Cove- 
nant ?  Away  with  the  Covenant,  if  this  be  so  !  I  thought 
the  Covenant  and  these  professors  of  it  could  have  been  wil- 
ling that  any  should  speak  good  of  the  name  of  Christ :  if 
not,  it  is  no  Covenant  of  God's  approving;  nor  are  these 
Kirks  you  mention  in  so  much  the  spouse  of  Christ. 

"  Where  do  you  find  in  the  Scripture  a  ground  to  warrant 
such  an  assertion,  that  preaching  is  exclusively  your  function? 
I  hope  He  that  ascended  up  on  high  may  give  His  gifts  to 
whom  He  pleases  :  and  if  those  gifts  be  the  seal  of  Mission, 
be  not  envious  though  Eldad  and  Medad  prophecy  (Numbers 
xi.  27).  You  know  who  bids  us  covet  earnestly  the  best  gifts, 
but  chiefly  that  we  may  prophesy  ;  which  the  Apostle  ex- 
•  Thurloe,  i.  158.     Carlyle,  ii.  236. 


BOOTLAND.  189 

plains  there  to  b6  a  speaking  to  instruction  and  edification 
and  comfort. 

"  Indeed  you  err  through  mistaking  of  the  Scriptures. 
Approbation  [i.  e.  ordination,  solemn  approbation  and  ap- 
pointment by  men]  is  an  act  of  conveniency  in  respect  of 
order ;  not  of  necessity,  to  give  faculty  to  preach  the  Gos- 
pel. Your  pretended  fear  lest  error  should  step  in,  is  like 
the  man  who  would  keep  all  the  wine  out  of  the  country  lest 
men  should  be  drunk.  It  will  be  found  an  unjust  and  un- 
wise jealousy,  to  deprive  a  man  of  his  natural  liberty  upon  a 
supposition  he  may  abuse  it.  When  he  doth  abuse  it,  judge. 
If  a  man  speak  foolishly,  ye  suffer  him  gladly  because  ye  are 
wise ;  if  erroneously,  the  truth  more  appears  by  your  con- 
viction of  him.  Stop  such  a  man's  mouth  by  sound  words 
which  cannot  be  gainsaid.  If  he  speak  blasphemously,  or  to 
the  disturbance  of  the  public  peace,  let  the  civil  magistrate 
punish  him  ;  if  truly,  rejoice  in  the  truth.  And  if  you  will 
call  all  our  speakings  together  since  we  came  into  Scotland, — 
to  provoke  one  another  to  lo^e  and  good  works,  to  faith  in 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  repentance  from  dead  works ; 
and  to  charity  and  love  towards  you,  to  pray  and  mourn  for 
you,  and  for  your  bitter  returns  to  our  love  of  you,  and  your 
incredulity  of  our  professions  of  love  to  you,  of  the  truth  of 
which  we  have  made  our  solemn  and  humble  appeals  to  the 
Lord  our  God,  which  lie  hath  heard  and  borne  witness  to  : 
if  you  will  call  (these)  things  scandalous  to  the  Kirk,  and 
against  the  Covenant,  because  done  by  men  of  civil  callings, — 

we  rejoice  in  them,  notwithstanding  what  you  say 

"  Your  loving  friend  and  servant, 

"Ol.IVKli   CiiOMWELL." 

it  is  impossible  not  to  aiiimif  Uu-  jusi,  incaii  (iliscrvcd  by 
Cromwell.  He  rejects  alike  the  disorder  of  some  who  would 
have  no  ministry,  and  the  bigotry  of  others  who  woul  per- 
mit none  but  priests  to  proclaim  Jesus  Christ.  He  is  here 
in  advance  of  his  age :  he  holds  the  balance  between  the 


140  eCOTLAND. 

two  extremes  by  whicli  he  is  surrounded.  In  this  day  all 
enlightened  Christians  are  of  his  opinion ;  even  the  episcopa- 
lian church  has  its  lay  evangelists. 

The  Edinburgh  ministers  persisted  in  their  determination 
to  remain  in  the  castle.  It  was  now  resolved  to  excavate 
the  immense  rocks  on  which  that  fortress  stands,  and  blow 
it  into  the  air.  While  the  miners  from  Derbyshire  were 
toiling  below,  the  ministers  sat  quietly  above.  On  the  12th 
of  December,  Cromwell  summoned  the  governor  to  surrender, 
and  the  lattec  after  several  parleys  agreed  to  capitulate. 

The  Protector  made  a  distinction  between  the  two  parties 
he  found  in  Scotland  :  on  the  one  hand  there  were  the  Ma- 
lignants,  the  friends  of  Charles  Stuart,  as  dissolute  and 
popishly  inclined  as  himself ;  on  the  other,  the  godly  people 
of  the  nation,  the  true  Presbyterians.  The  4th  of  December 
he  wrote  on  this  subject  to  the  speaker  of  the  English  par- 
liament.* 

"  I  can  assure  you,  that  those  that  serve  you  here  find 
more  satisfaction  in  having  to  deal  with  men  of  this  stamp 
[the  Malignants]  than  with  others  ;  and  it  is  our  comfort 
that  the  Lord  hath  hitherto  made  it  the  matter  of  our 
prayers,  and  of  our  endeavors  (if  it  might  have  been  the 
will  of  God)  to  have  had  a  Christian  understanding  between 

those  that  fear  God  in  this  land  and  ourselves 

Those  religious  people  of  Scotland  that  fall  in  this  cause, 
we  cannot  but  pity  and  mourn  for  them  ;  and  we  pray  that 
all  good  men  may  do  so  too.  Indeed  there  is  at  this  time  a 
very  great  distraction,  and  mighty  workings  of  God  upon 
the  hearts  of  divers,  both  ministers  and  people."  Cromwell 
was  pleased  with  this  agitation,  hoping  that  it  would  lead  to 
an  understanding  between  the  two  kintjdoms. 

Perhaps  there  never  was  a  general  at  the  head  of  an  army, 

who  entertained  a  more  cordial  affection  towards  his  enemies. 

He  had  shown  this  at  his  verj^  entrance  into  Scotland.     The 

inhabitants  of  Dunbar  being  in  great  distress  for  want  of 

•  Newspaper  Cromwelliana,  p.  94.     Carlyle,  ii.  264. 


SCOTLAKD.  141 

provisions,  he  distributed  t'lmong  thcni  pease  and  wheat  to 
the  value  of  £'240. 

Anxiety,  severe  labor,  and  a  rigorous  winter,  seriously 
nflFected  his  health.  During  his  sojourn  in  Edinburgh,  where 
he  was  lodged  in  the  sumptuous  mansion  of  Earl  Murray  in 
the  Canongate,  he  fell  dangerously  ill.  He  felt  again  that 
hand  of  God,  which  had  weighed  so  heavily  on  him  at  St. 
Ives.  He  again  expenenced,  as  Augustin  says,*  that  "  there 
are  many  deaths,  and  that  the  cause  of  all  is  sin."  He  saw 
in  this  malady  the  chastening  of  God  ;  but  in  him  this  chas- 
tening bore  a  peaceable  fruit  of  righteousness  ;  it  revived  in 
him  the  heavenly  life.  He  was  sensible  that  the  Lord  is 
nigh  unto  them  that  are  of  a  broken  heart,  and  saveth  such 
as  be  of  a  contrite  spirit  (Psalm  xxxiv.  19.)  Of  this  the 
next  letter  is  a  proof : — 

"  To  the  Right  Honorable  the  Lord  President  of  the  Council 
of  State :     These. 

"  Edinburgh,  24th  March,  1651. 
"  My  Lord, 

" Indeed,  my  Lord,  your  service  needs  not  me  : 

I  am  a  poor  creature  ;  and  have  been  a  dry  bone :  and  am 
still  an  unprofitable  servant  to  my  master  and  you.  I  thought 
I  should  have  died  of  this  fit  of  sickness ;  but  the  Lord 
seemeth  to  dispose  otherwise.  But  truly,  my  Lord,  I  desire 
not  to  live,  unless  I  may  obtain  mercy  from  the  Lord  to  ap- 
prove my  heart  and  life  to  Him  in  more  faithfulness  and 
thankfulness,  and  to  those  I  serve  in  more  profitableness  and 
all  diligence.  And  I  pray  God,  your  Lordship,  and  all  in 
public  trust,  may  approve  all  those  unparalleled  experiences 
of  the  Lord's  wonderful  workings  in  your  sight,  with  singleness 
of  heart  to  His  glory,  and  the  refreshment  of  his  people.  .  . . 

Oliver  CKOM\vi;LL."f 

•  De  Civitatc  Dei,  xiii.  12. 

t  Newtp.  Cromwelliana,  101.     Carlyle,  ii.  30*2. 


142  SCOTLiLKD. 

This  is  truly  the  language  of  a  convalescent  christian  man. 
Shortly  after  this,  he  addressed  the  following  letter  to  his 
"wife. 

"  For  my  beloved  Wife  Elizabeth  Cromwell,  at  the  Cockpit : 
These. 

"  Edinburgh,  I2th  April,  1651. 
"  My  Dearest, 

"  I  praise  the  Lord  I  am  increased  in  strength  in  my  out- 
ward man  :  but  that  will  not  satisfy  me  except  I  get  a  heart 
to  love  and  serve  my  Heavenly  Father  better  ;  and  get  more 
of  the  light  of  His  countenance,  which  is  better  than  life, 
and  more  power  over  my  corruptions : — in  these  hopes  I 
wait,  and  am  not  without  expectation  of  a  gracious  return. 
Pray  for  me  ;  truly  I  do  daily  for  thee,  and  the  dear  Family ; 
and  God  Almighty  bless  you  all  with  His  spiritual  blessings. 

"Mind  poor  Betty  [Elizabeth  Claypole]  of  the  Lord's 
great  mercy.  Oh,  I  desire  her  not  only  to  seek  the  Lord  in 
her  necessity,  but  in  deed  and  in  truth  to  turn  to  the  Lord  ; 
and  to  keep  close  to  him ;  and  to  take  heed  of  a  departing 
heart,  and  of  being  cozened  with  worldly  vanities  and 
worldly  company,  which  I  doubt  she  is  too  subject  to.  I 
earnestly  and  frequently  pray  for  her  and  for  him  [her  hus- 
band]. Truly  they  are  dear  to  me,  very  dear  ;  and  I  am  in 
fear  lest  Satan  should  deceive  them ; — knowing  how  weak 
our  hearts  are,  and  how  subtle  the  adversary  is.  Let  them 
seek  Him  in  truth,  and  they  shall  find  Him. 

"  My  love  to  the  dear  little  ones ;  I  pray  for  grace  for 
them.     I  thank  them  for  their  letters ;  let  me  have  them 

often Truly  I  am  not  able  as  yet  to  write  much.     I  am 

weary ;  and  rest 

"  Thine, 

"  Olpver  Cromwell."* 

The  council  of  state  had  sent  Cromwell  two  distinguished 
•  Carlyle,  ii.  303. 


IC0TLAI7D.  143 

physicians,  one  of  wliom,  Dr.  Bates,  although  of  a  diSerent 
party  from  his  patient,  has  borne  him  honorable  testimony. 
Oliver  thanked  the  council  for  their  regard  to  "  so  frail  a 
thing  as  he  was:"  but  the  whole  letter  is  worthy  of  being 
read. 

"  To  the  Lord  President  of  the  Council  of  Stale :   These. 

"  Edinburgh,  3d  June,  1G51. 
"  My  Lord, 

"  I  have  received  yours  of  the  27th  of  May,  with  an  order 
from  the  Parliament  for  my  liberty  to  return  into  England 
for  change  of  air,  that  thereby  I  might  the  better  recover 
my  health.  All  which  came  unto  me  whilst  Dr.  Wright  and 
Dr.  Bates,  whom  your  Lordship  sent  down,  were  with  me. 

"  I  shall  not  need  to  recite  the  extremity  of  my  last  sick- 
ness :  it  was  so  violent  that  indeed  my  nature  was  not  able 
to  bear  the  weight  thereof.  But  the  Lord  was  pleased  to 
deliver  me,  beyond  expectation,  and  to  give  me  cause  to  say 
once  more.  He  hath  plucked  me  out  of  the  grave  !  My  Lord, 
the  indulgence  of  the  Parliament  expre.ssed  by  their  order  is 
a  very  high  and  undeserved  favor :  of  which  although  it  be 
fit  I  keep  a  thankful  remembrance,  yet  I  judge  it  would  be 
too  much  presumption  in  me  to  return  a  particular  acknowl- 
edgment. I  beseech  you  give  me  the  boldness  to  return  my 
humble  thankfulness  to  the  Council  for  sending  two  such 
worthy  persons  so  great  a  journey  to  visit  me.  From 
whom  I  have  received  much  encouragement,  and  good  direc- 
tions for  recovery  of  health  and  strength, — which  I  find  now, 
by  the  goodness  of  God,  growing  to  such  a  state  as  may  yet, 
if  it  be  His  good  will,  render  me  iLseful  according  to  my  poor 
ability  in  the  station  wherein  He  hath  set  me. 

"  I  wish  more  stejidiness  in  your  affairs  here  than  to  de- 
pend, in  the  least  degree,  upon  so  frail  a  thing  as  I  am. 
Indeed  they  do  not, — n(jr  own  any  instalment.  This  cause 
is  of  God,  and  it  must  prosper.  Oh,  that  all  that  have  any 
hand  therein,  being  so  persuaded,  would  gird  up  the  loins  of 


144  BCOTLAKS. 

their  mind,  and  endeavor  in  all  things  to  walk  worthy  of  the 
Lord !     So  prays, 

"  My  Lord, 

"  Your  most  humble  servant, 

"  Oliver  Cromwell."* 

We  have  already  remarked  that  the  most  striking  feature 
in  Cromwell,  as  unveiled  to  us  by  his  correspondence,  is  his 
character  as  the  head  of  a  family.  He  possessed  a  tender- 
ness and  wisdom  most  worthy  of  admiration.  There  are 
many  other  letters  of  this  kind  which  we  should  like  to 
quote,  but  we  must  refrain.  We  shall,  however,  give  one 
more,  in  which  he  appears  as  a  father,  at  onee  firm,  prudent, 
and  enlightened. f 

Mr.  Mayor,  to  whom  the  letter  is  addressed,  was,  it  will 
be  remembered,  the  father  of  his  son  Richard's  wife.  Crom- 
well had  sought  this  gentleman's  daughter  for  his  son,  pre- 
ferring her  to  other  more  brilliant  matches,  because  her 
father  and  his  family  were  religious  people.  He  remained 
ever  after  attached  to  this  pious  man,  and  corresponded  with 
him,  as  with  a  brother,  in  the  most  remarkable  periods  of 
his  military  career. 

"  To  my  very  loving  Brother,  Richard  Mayor,  Esquire,  at 
Hursley :   These. 

"  Burntisland,  28th  July,  1651. 
"  Dear  Brother, 

"  I  was  glad  to  receive  a  letter  from  you.  I  believe  your 
expectation  of  my  son's  coming  is  deferred.  I  wish  he  may 
see  a  happy  delivery  of  his  wife  first,  for  whom  I  frequently 
pray. 

"  I  hear  my  son  hath  exceeded  his  allowance,  and  is  in 
debt.     Truly  I  cannot  commend  him  therein I  desire 

*  Kimber's  Life  of  Oliver  Cromwell  (Lond.  1724),  201.  Carlyle,  ii. 
315. 

t  Harris'  Life  of  Cromwell,  513.     Carlyle,  ii.  323. 


SCOTLAND.  146 

to  be  understood  that  I  grudge  him  not  laudable  recreations, 
nor  an  honorable  carriage  of  himself  in  them  ;  nor  is  any 
matter  of  charge,  like  to  fall  to  my  share,  a  stick  [stop]  with 
me.  Truly  I  can  find  in  my  heart  to  allow  him  not  only  a 
sufficiency,  but  more,  for  his  good.  But  if  pleasure  and 
self-satisfaction  be  made  the  business  of  a  man's  life,  and  so 
much  cost  laid  upon  it,  so  much  time  spent  in  it,  as  rather 
answers  appetite  than  the  will  of  God, — I  scruple  to  feed 
this  humor ;  and  God  forbid  that  his  being  my  son  should 
be  his  allowance  to  live  not  pleasingly  to  our  heavenly 
Father,  who  hath  raised  me  out  of  the  dust  to  be  what  I  am. 
"I  desire  your  faithfulness  to  advise  him  to  approve  him- 
self to  the  Lord  in  his  course  of  life ;  and  to  search  His 
statutes  for  a  rule  to  conscience,  and  to  seek  grace  from 
Christ  to  enable  him  to  walk  therein.  This  hath  life  in  it, 
and  will  come  to  somewhat :  what  is  a  poor  creature  without 
this  ?  This  will  not  abridge  of  lawful  pleasures ;  but  teach 
such  a  use  of  them  as  will  have  the  peace  of  a  good  con- 
science going  along  with  it.  Sir,  I  write  what  is  in  my 
heart :  I  pray  you  communicate  my  mind  herein  to  my  son. 
Truly  I  love  him  ;  he  is  dear  to  me  ;  so  is  his  wife ;  and  for 
their  sakes  do  I  thus  write.  They  shall  not  want  comfort 
nor  encouragement  from  me,  so  far  as  I  may  afford  it.  But 
indeed  I  cannot  think  I  do  well  to  feed  a  voluptuous  humor 
in  my  son,  if  he  should  make  pleasures  the  business  of  his 
]ife, — in  a  time  when  some  precious  saints  are  bleeding,  and 

breatliing  out  their  last  for  the  safety  of  the  rest I  desire 

your  prayers  ;  and  rest 

"  Your  very  afTectionate  brother  and  servant, 

"Oliver  Cromwei.l." 

During  his  stay  at  Glasgow,  Cromwell  attended  divine 
worship  in  the  Presbyterian  churches.  The  Scotti.sh  niiui.s- 
ters,  preaching  before  this  mighty  and  victorious  general,  did 
not  hesitate  to  pray  for  the  king  and  call  Oliver  a  usiirper. 
We  do  not  find  that  he  punished  them  in  any  way  ;  on  the 


1 46  SCOTLAND. 

contrary,  knowing  very  well  that  no  confidence  could  be 
placed  either  in  Charles  Stuart  or  in  his  political  party,  he 
endeavored  to  form  a  connection  with  the  religious  body,  as 
the  only  one  with  which  a  lasting  peace  could  be  made. 

Charles,  seeing  that  his  cause  was  ruined  in  Scotland,  re- 
solved to  march  into  England,  in  the  hope  that  all  the  royal- 
ists in  the  north  would  rise  at  his  approach ;  but  he  was 
thoroughly  defeated  at  Worcester,  on  the  3d  of  September, 
1651,  on  which  day,  twelve  months  before,  Cromwell  had 
gained  the  battle  of  Dunbar. 

The  expedition  being  thus  ended,  Charles  fled  to  France, 
and  sought  to  forget  his  discomfiture  in  debauchery  and  dis- 
sipation. 

Cromwell's  dispatch  to  Parliament*  of  this  new  victory 
terminates  with  the  following  passage  : — 

"  The  dimensions  of  this  mercy  are  above  my  thoughts. 
It  is,  for  aught  I  know,  a  crowning  mercy.  Surely,  if  it  be 
not,  such  a  one  we  shall  have,  if  this  provoke  those  that  are 
concerned  in  it  to  thankfulness  ;  and  the  Parliament  to  do  the 
will  of  Him  who  hath  done  His  will  for  it  and  for  the  na- 
tion ; — whose  good  pleasure  it  is  to  establish  the  nation  and 
the  change  of  the  government,  by  making  the  people  so  will- 
ing to  the  defence  thereof,  and  so  signally  blessing  the  en- 
deavors of  your  servants  in  this  late  great  work.  I  am  bold 
humbly  to  beg,  that  all  thoughts  may  tend  to  the  promoting 
of  His  honor  who  hath  wrought  so  great  salvation ;  and  that 
the  fatness  of  these  continued  mercies  may  not  occasion  pride 
and  wantonness,  as  formerly  the  like  hath  done  to  a  chosen 
nation.  \Jeshurvn  waxed  fat,  and  kicked :  and  thou  art  waxen 
fat,  thou  art  grown  thick,  thou  art  covered  toith  fatness :  then 
he  forsook  God  which  made  him,  and  lightly  esteemed  the  Rock 
of  his  salvation.  Deut.  xxxii.  15.]  But  that  the  fear  of  the 
Lord,  even  for  His  mercies,  may  keep  an  authority  and  o 
people  so  prospered,  and  blessed,  and  witnessed  unto,  hum 
ble  and  faithful ;  and  that  justice  and  righteousness,  mercy 
*  Cromwelliana.  113.     Carlyle,  ii.  339. 


SCOTLAITD,  147 

and  truth,  may  flow  from  you,  as  a  thankful  return  to  our 
gracious  God.     This  shall  be  the  prayer  of, 
"  Sir, 
"  Your  most  humble  and  obedient  servant, 

"  Oliver  Cromwell." 

Cromwell  commissioned  a  number  of  the  most  godly  men 
(Gillespie  and  some  of  his  brethren)  to  arrange  the  affairs  of 
the  Scottish  Church ;  and  it  was  his  desire  that,  in  the  elec- 
tion of  pastors,  they  should  have  regard  to  the  choice  of  the 
most  religious  portion  of  the  flock,  although  these  should  not 
constitute  the  majority. 

Dr.  Hetherington,  the  historian  of  the  Scottish  Chiu-ch, 
bears  the  following  testimony  to  Oliver's  policy  :  "  Through- 
out the  whole  of  Scotland,  during  the  period  of  Cromwell's 
domination,  there  prevailed  a  degree  of  civil  peace  beyond 
what  had  almost  ever  before  been  experienced."* 

An  old  historian,  Kirkton,  speaks  thus  of  the  religious 
condition  of  Scotland: — "I  verily  believe  there  were  moriB* 
souls  converted  to  Christ  in  that  short  period  of  time,  than 
in  any  season  since  the  Reformation,  though  of  triple  its 
duration." — Such  are  the  testimonies  of  two  native  writers. 

Thus  the  result  of  Cromwell's  campaigns  both  in  Ireland 
and  in  Scotland  was  the  peace  and  prosperit)'  of  those  two 
countries.  There  are  few  wars  recorded  in  history  which 
have  produced  such  beneficial  consequences. 

Here,  properly  speaking,  terminates  Oliver's  military  life. 
Before  bidding  it  farewell,  let  us  call  to  mind  the  testimony 
which  Cromwell  more  than  once  has  borne  to  his  army.  "  I 
hope,"  wrote  he  to  Colonel  Walton,  in  September,  1044,  "1 
hope  the  kingdom  shall  see  that,  in  the  midst  of  our  neces- 
sities, we  shall  serve  them  witliout  disputes.  We  hope  to 
forget  our  w^ants,  which  are  exceeding  great,  and  ill  cared 
for :  and  desire  to  refer  the  many  slanders  heaped  upon  ua 
by  false  tongues  to  God, — who  will,  in  due  time,  make  it 

♦  Hist.  Church  of  Scotlnnd,  ISO. 


148  SCOTLAND. 

appear  to  the  world  that  we  study  the  glory  of  God,  and  the 
honor  and  liberty  of  the  Parliament.  For  which  we  unani- 
mously fight ;  without  seeking  our  own  interests.  Indeed . 
we  never  find  our  men  so  cheerful  as  when  there  is  work  to 
do.  I  trust  you  will  always  hear  so  of  them.  The  Lord  is 
our  strength,  and  in  Him  is  all  our  hope."  With  these  sol- 
diers he  performed  wonders.  Before  the  battle  of  Worces- 
ter, the  alarm  in  London  was  very  great.  "  Both  the  city 
and  the  country,"  says  Mrs.  Hutchinson,  "were  all  amazed, 
and  doubtful  of  their  own  and  the  commonwealth's  safety. 
Some  could  not  hide  very  pale  and  unmanly  fears,  and  were 
in  such  distraction  of  spirit,  that  it  much  disturbed  their 
councils."*  Even  BradshaAV,  "  stout-hearted  as  he  was," 
trembled  for  his  neck.  But  when  Oliver  came  to  Worcester, 
advantageous  as  that  position  was  to  the  enemy,  he  rushed 
upon  them  immediately,  as  a  lion  on  his  prey;  and  not 
troubling  himself  with  the  formality  of  a  siege,  ordered  his 
troops  to  fall  on  in  all  places  at  once.  The  loss  on  his  side 
did  not  exceed  200  men ;  yet  it  was,  he  said,  "  a  stiff  busi- 
ness— as  stiff  a  .contest  for  four  or  five  hours  as  ever  he  had 
seen." 

In  one  of  his  letters,  Cromwell  has  preserved  an  anecdote 
characteristic  of  the  times,  and  which  relates  to  one  of  his 
early  battles.  "  A  poor  godly  man,"  he  says,  "  died  in 
Preston,  the  day  before  the  fight ;  and  being  sick,  near  the 
hour  of  his  death,  he  desired  the  woman  that  cooked  to  him, 
to  fetch  him  a  handful  of  grass.  She  did  so  ;  and  when  he 
received  it,  he  asked  whether  it  would  wither  or  not,  now  it 
was  cut  ?  The  woman  said  '  yea.'  He  replied,  '  so  should 
this  army  of  the  Scots  do,  and  come  to  nothing,  so  soon  as 
ours  did  but  appear,'  or  words  to  this  effect ;  and  So  imme- 
diately died  ?"* 

In  this  symbolical  language  there  is  a  something  remind- 
ing us  of  the  Old  Testament.     The  war  of  Scotland  was 

*  Memoirs  of  Colonel  Hutchinson,  356.     London,  1846. 
t  Letter  to  St.  John,  1st  September,  1648.     Carlyle,  i.  385. 


SCOTLAND.  149 

ended,  and  its  results  were  prosperity  and  peace.  Another 
symbol  was  now  required.  One  of  the  dying  soldiers  on 
.the  battle-field  of  Worcester,  directing  his  eyes  towards  his 
disUnt  home  in  Scotland,  had  sufficient  strength  to  take  up 
a  handful  of  corn,  and  say,  as  he  threw  it  on  the  ground : 
"  There  shall  be  a  handful  of  corn  in  the  earth  upon  the  top 
of  the  mountains  ;  the  fruit  thereof  shall  shake  like  Lebanon : 
and  they  of  the  city  shall  flourish  Uke  grass  of  the  earth." 
(Psalm  Ixxii.  16.) 

13* 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

THE    PROTECTORATE. 

Blake — Love  and  Fear — The  Rump  Parliament— Dissolved  by  Crom- 
well— The  Little  Parliament — Speech — Cromwell's  Integrity — Re- 
forms— Cromwell's  Longing  for  Peace — The  End — The  Protectorate 
— Constitution — New  Parliament — Cromwell's  Apology — Death  of 
his  Mother — Obstructions  to  Religious  Liberty — Cromwell  dissolves 
the  Parliament — His  Plans — L'ctat,  c'est  moi — The  Two  French  In- 
vasions— Revival  of  English  Liberty. 

As  soon  as  Ireland  and  Scotland  were  pacified,  Cromwell 
turned  his  attention  to  the  peace  and  prosperity  of  England. 
This  was  a  more  difficult  task  than  either  of  those  which  he 
had  accomplished  in  the  two  sister  countries.  The  same 
elements  which  had  overthrown  despotism  in  England  were 
then  agitating  the  people,  and  were  likely  to  banish  from  it 
all  order  and  tranquillity.  For  some  time  foreign  affairs  had 
diverted  men's  minds  from  home  matters.  The  fleet  under 
the  command  of  Admiral  Blake  had  just  triumphed  over  the 
Dutch  ;  but  now  the  thoughts  of  all  were  concentrated  anew 
on  internal  matters. 

After  having  commanded  in  the  battle-field,  the  Protector 
was  now  to  rule  in  the  council-chamber.  But  let  us  first 
listen  once  more  to  the  voice  of  the  father  and  the  Christian. 
The  following  letter  addressed  to  Fleetwood,  commander-in- 
chief  in  Ireland,  who  had  married  Bridget  Cromwell,  Ireton's 
widow,  will  remind  us  of  another  in  which  the  fond  parent 
displays  the  same  anxiety  for  the  soul  of  his  daughter : — 


THB    PROTECTORATTt.  151 

"  For  the  Right  Honorable  Lieutenant- General   Fleetwood, 
Commander-in-chief  of  the  Forces  in  Ireland :   These. 

"  Cockpit,  December  ("?)  1652. 
"  Dear  Charles, 

"  I  thank  you  for  your  loving  letter.  The  same  hopes 
and  desires,  upon  your  planting  into  my  family,  Tvere  much 
the  same  in  me  that  you  express  in  yours  towards  me.  How- 
ever, the  dispensation  of  the  Lord  is,  to  have  it  otherwise  for 
the  present ;  and  therein  I  desire  to  acquiesce ; — not  being 
out  of  hope  that  it  may  lie  in  His  good  pleasure,  in  His 
time,  to  give  us  the  mutual  comfort  of  our  relation :  the 
want  whereof  He  is  able  abundantly  to  supply  by  His  own 
presence  ;  which  indeed  makes  up  all  defects,  and  is  the 
comfort  of  all  our  comforts  and  enjoyments. 

"  Salute  your  dear  wife  from  me.  Bid  her  beware  of  a 
bondage  spirit.  Fear  is  the  natural  issue  of  such  a  spirit ; — 
the  antidote  is.  Love.  The  voice  of  Fear  is  :  If  I  had  done 
this  ;  if  I  had  avoided  that,  how  well  it  had  been  with  me  ! 
— I  know  this  hath  been  her  vain  reasoning. 

"  Love  argueth  in  this  wise  ;  what  a  Christ  have  I ;  what 
a  father  in  and  through  Him  !  What  a  Name  hath  my  Fa- 
ther :  Merciful,  gracious,  long-suffering,  abundant  in  good- 
ness and  truth  ;  forgiving  iniquity,  transgression,  and  sin. 
What  a  Nature  hath  my  Father :  Be  is  Love  ; — free  in  it, 
unchangeable,  infinite  !  What  a  Covenant  between  Him  and 
Christ, — for  all  the  Seed,  for  every  one  :  wherein  he  under- 
takes all,  and  the  poor  Soul  nothing.  The  new  Covenant  is 
Orace, — to  or  upon  the  Soul ;  to  which  it  (the  Soul)  is  pas- 
sive and  receptive  ;  /  7/  do  axoag  their  Sins  ;  I  'tl  write  my 
Law,  (fee. ;  I'll  put  it  in  their  hearts :  they  shall  never  de^xirt 
from  me,  &c. 

"  This  commends  the  love  of  God  :  it's  Christ  dying  for 
men  without  strength,  for  men  whilst  sinners,  whilst  ene- 
mies. And  shall  we  seek  for  the  root  of  our  comforts  within 
U8, — What  Ood  hath  done,  what  He  is  to  us  in  Christ,  this 


162  THB   PKOTECTOKATK. 

is  the  root  of  our  comfort :  in  this  is  stabiUty  ;  in  us  is  weak- 
ness. Acts  of  obedience  are  not  perfect,  and  therefore  yield 
not  perfect  Grace.  Faith,  as  an  act,  yields  it  not ;  but  only 
as  it  carries  us  into  Him,  who  is  our  perfect  rest  and  peace ; 
in  whom  we  are  accounted  of,  and  received  by,  the  Father, 
■ — even  as  Christ  Himself!  This  is  our  high  calling.  Rest 
we  here,  and  here  only. 

"  Commend  me  to  Harry  Cromwell :  I  pray  for  him,  that 
he  may  thrive,  and  improve  in  the  knowledge  and  love  of 
Christ.  Commend  me  to  all  the  Officers.  My  prayers  in- 
deed are  daily  for  them.  Wish  them  to  beware  of  bitter- 
ness of  spirit ;  and  of  all  things  uncomely  for  the  Gospel. 
The  Lord  give  you  abundance  of  wisdom,  and  faith,  and  pa- 
tience. Take  heed  also  of  your  natural  inclination  to  com- 
pliance. 

"  Pray  for  me.     I  commit  you  to  the  Lord ;  and  rest 
"  Your  loving  father, 

"  Oliver  Cromwell." 

"  The  Boy  and  Betty  are  very  well.  Show  what  kindness 
you  well  may  to  Colonel  Clayton,  to  my  nephew  Gregory, 
to  Claypole's  brother."* 
y  The  Long  Parliament,  or  the  Rumi),  as  it  was  called,  was 
drawing  near  its  end.  This  assembly  was  in  reality  a  mere 
remnant  of  the  parliament,  containing  a  very  small  number 
of  members,  the  residue  of  Pride's  pui-ge.  It  was  also  un- 
popular in  the  nation,  and  attacked  by  every  party.  From 
all  sides  it  was  called  upon  to  dissolve  itself,  and  thus  grat- 
ify the  wishes  of  the  universal  people.  But  the  Rump  could 
not  make  up  their  minds  to  such  a  decided  measure. 

A  new  power  was  required  for  the  new  task  that  remained 
to  be  accomplished.  This  power  must  be  essentially  one ; 
for  if  the  many  can  destroy,  a  single  power  is  more  capable 
of  organizing  and  building  up.  It  was  not  until  a  later  pe- 
riod that  Cromwell  assumed  the  title  of  Protector  ;  but  his 
♦  Carlyle,  ii.  376. 


THE    PROTECTORATE.  153 

protectorate  in  reality  began  immediately  after  his  return 
from  Scotland. 

He  and  his  officers  thought  that,  since  the  Rump  coiJd 
not  come  to  the  determination  of  resigning  their  powers, 
they  ought  of  themselves  to  take  measures  for  its  dissolu- 
tion. A  new  pretension  of  this  body  accelerated  its  end. 
On  the  20th  of  April,  1653,  Colonel  Ingoldsby  informed 
Cromwell  that  the  parliament  was  passing  a  bill  to  prolong 
its  own  duration.  Indignant  and  greatly  excited,  he  ex- 
claimed :  "  It  is  not  honest ;  yea,  it  is  contrary  to  common 
honesty."  He  then  hastened  down  to  the  House,  followed 
by  a  company  of  musketeers,  whom  he  left  in  the  lobby. 
He  entered  the  hall,  and  composedly  seated  himself  in  his 
usual  place,  listening  attentively  to  the  debate.  His  dress 
was  a  plain  suit  of  black  cloth,  with  gray  worsted  stockings, 
— the  ordinary  costume  of  the  PuritansN/  For  about  a  quar- 
ter of  an  hour  he  sat  still ;  but  when  the  Speaker  was  go- 
ing to  put  the  question,  he  whispered  to  Lieutenant-general 
Harrison, — "  This  is  the  time,  I  must  do  it."  Alluding  to 
this  crisis,  he  said  at  a  subsequent  period,  "  When  I  went  to 
the  House,  I  did  not  think  to  have  done  this  ;  but  perceiv- 
ing the  Spirit  of  God  strong  upon  me,  I  would  no  longer 
consult  flesh  and  blood." 

After  pausing  for  a  minute,  Cromwell  rose,  and  taking  off 
his  hat,  addressed  the  members  at  first  in  laudatory  terms. 
Gradually  becoming  warmer  and  more  vehement,  he  charged 
thorn  with  injustice  and  self-interest,  and  then  declared  that 
he  had  come  down  to  put  an  end  to  a  power  of  which  they 
had  made  such  bad  use.  He  was  very  excited,  walking  up 
and  down,  and  occasionally  stamping  the  floor  with  his  feet. 
"  You  are  no  parliament,"  he  said  ;  "  I'll  put  an  end  to  your 
-itting.  Some  of  you  are  drunkards  (and  he  pointed  to 
ihose  whom  he  had  in  view) ;  others  live  a  corrupt  and  scan- 
dalous life  (and  his  eyes  glanced  formidably  upon  them) 
"  I  say  you  are  no  parliament.  Get  ye  gone  !  Give  way  to 
honester  men."     Speaker  Lenthall  declared  that  he  would 


164  THE   PROTECTORATE, 

not  retire  until  forced.  Harrison  then  took  him  by  the  hand^ 
and  led  him  from  his  chair,  "  What  shall  we  do  with  this 
fool's  bauble  ?"  said  Cromwell,  fixing  his  eyes  on  the  mace, 
• — "  Here,  take  it  away," — and  he  gave  it  to  a  musketeer. 
After  all  the  members  of  the  Rump,  to  the  number  of 
eighty,  had  vanished,  the  Protector  locked  the  door,  put  the 
key  in  his  pocket,  and  returned  to  Whitehall. 

'/^What  he  said  to  the  Parliament  was  indeed  the  truth.  It 
was  well  that  this  assembly  was  dissolved,  and  the  General, 
by  desiring  another,  looked  really  to  the  welfare  of  the  peo- 
ple. Nevertheless,  on  this  occasion,  he  not  only  violated  the 
principles  by  which  states  are  governed  ;  but  he  was  misled 
with  regard  to  those  by  which  religion  should  guide  men's 
actions.  His  mainspring,  as  he  tells  us  himself,  was  again, 
in  this  as  in  other  occurrences,  certain  impulses  which  he 
looked  upon  as  the  Spirit  of  God.  J^o  doubt  the  Holy 
Spirit  leads  men ;  but  we  repeat,  that  it  is  by  the  precepts 
in  the  Word  of  God  that  he  leads  them,  and  not  by  inward 
illuminations,  more  or  less  vague,  which  they  think  to  be 
the  voice  of  the  Almighty  himself,  but  which  may  be 
merely  the  voice  of  their  own  passions.  Nevertheless,  what- 
ever might  have  been  the  motive  which  influenced  Crom- 
well's conviction,  what  he  did  was  truly  for  the  good  of  the 
commonwealth.  Numerous  addresses  from  the  army,  the 
fleet,  and  other  quarters  approved  his  conduct,  and  set  upon 
this  daring  act  the  seal  of  popular  opinion.  Impartial  pos- 
terity, contemplating  the  use  he  made  of  his  power,  and 
adopting  the  expression  of  an  illustrious  bishop,  will,  with 

<Warburton,  entitle  him, "  the  most  magnanimous  of  usurpers." 
As  he  now  had  the  supreme  power  entirely  in  his  own 
hands,  he  immediately  sought  to  employ  it  in  reorganizing 
the  nation.  In  conjunction  with  a  council  of  state,  consist- 
ing of  twelve  members,  he  endeavored  to  form  an  Assem- 
bly of  Notables,  to  whom  the  great  work  he  had  in  view 
might  be  confided.  Desirous  of  seeing  the  best  men  called 
together  to  provide   for  the  good  of  their   coxmtry,    he 


THB   PROTECTORATB.  155 

thought  that  their  choice  should  be  intrusted  to  no  one  but 
himself.  Besides,  England  was  tired  of  parliaments  and 
anarchy.  He  therefore  sought  in  every  quarter  for  persona 
of  approved  fidelity  and  honesty,  known  for  their  fear  of 
God,  their  intelligence,  and  renunciation  of  worldly  passions, 
and  summoned  them  to  undertake  the  renovation  of  the 
state.  He  selected  one  hundred  and  thirty-nine  representa- 
tives for  England,  six  for  Wales,  six  for  Ireland,  and  five  for 
Scotland. 

On  the  4th  of  July,  1653,  the  Protector,  supported  by  a 
numerous  body  of  ofiicers,  opened  this  assembly  in  the 
Council-chamber  at  Whitehall,  and  addressed  them  sa  fol- 
lows : — * 

"  GrENlXEMEN, 

" I  beseech  you, — but  I  think  1  need  noi, — 

have  a  care  of  the  Whole  Flock  !  Love  the  sheep,  love  the 
lambs ;  love  all,  tender  all,  cherish  and  countenance  all,  in 
all  things  that  are  good.  And  if  the  poorest  Christian,  the 
most  mistaken  Chri.stian,  shall  desire  to  live  peaceably  and 
quietly  under  you, — I  say,  if  any  shall  desire  but  to  lead  a 
life  of  godliness  and  honesty,  let  him  be  protected. 

"  I  think  I  need  not  advise,  much  less  press  you,  to  en- 
deavor the  Promoting  of  the  Gospel  ;  to  encourage  the 
Ministry ;  such  a  Ministry  and  such  Ministers  as  be  faithful 
in  the  Land ;  upon  whom  the  true  character  is.     Men  that 

have  received  the  Spirit I   spe.'ik  not, — I   thank 

God  it  is  far  from  my  heart, — for  a  Ministry  deriving  itself 
from  the  Papacy,  and  pretending  to  that  which  is  so  much 
insisted  on,  '  Succession.*  The  true  Succession  is  through 
the  Spirit.  The  Spirit  is  given  for  that  use.  To  make  proper 
Speakers  forth  i>f  Gofl's  f>torii;i]  Tiuth  :  and  tli;it's  ri'_flit 
Succession. .  . 

"  I  confess  1  iit;\  er  luukccl  lo  bee  such  a  day  as  tins, — it 
may  be  nor  you  neither, — when  Jesus  Christ  should  be  so 
•  MUton,  State  Papers,  106-114.     Carlyle,  ii.  411,  tSoc. 


156  THE    PKOTECfORATK, 

owned  as  He  is,  this  day,  of  you God  manifests 

this  to  be  the  day  of  the  power  of  Christ ;  having,  through 
so  much  blood,  and  so  much  trial  as  hath  been  upon  these 
nations,  made  this  to  be  one  of  the  great  issues  thereof;  To 
have  his  people  called  to  the  Supreme  Authority.  He 
makes  this  to  be  the  greatest  mercy,  next  to  His  own  Son. 
Perhaps  you  are  not  known  by  face  to  one  another ;  coming 
from  all  parts  of  the  Nation  as  you  do :  but  Ave  shall  tell 
you  that  indeed  we  have  not  allowed  ourselves  the  choice  of 
one  person  in  whom  we  had  not  this  good  hope.  That  there 
was  in  him  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  and  lov6  to  all  His  People." 

If  Cromwell's  words  express  the  truth,  this  assembly  was 
really  one  without  example  before  or  since  in  this  world. 
'/A  celebrated  writer  has  called  this  speech  and  the  emo- 
tion which  accompanied  it,  "  mere  nonsense  ;"  but  he  adds  : 
"  Beneath  all  this  nonsense  new  manners  were  forming,  and 
institutions  were  taking  root.  These  characters  would  not 
have  been  so  ridiculous,  but  for  their  eccentricity ;  still, 
everything  that  is  strongly  constituted  contains  a  principle 
of  life.  The  courtiers  of  Charles  H.  might  laugh ;  but  these 
honest  fanatics  left  a  posterity  which  has  freed  the  world 
■  from  these  courtiers,  and  punished  them  as  they  deserved."* 

With  increased  elevation  Cromwell  still  shoAved  the  strict- 
est integrity.  He  was  neither  a  spendthrift  nor  a  miser. 
Mammon  was  not  his  god,  as  it  has  been  of  so  many  men  in 
power ;  and  his  descendants  in  England  are  far  from  belong- 
ing to  the  most  opulent  families  of  that  coimtry.  Richard 
Mayor,  it  would  seem,  desired  to  make  an  advantageous  pur- 
chase of  land,  which  called  forth  the  following  reply  from 
him : — f 

"  For  my  loving  Brother,  Richard  Mayor,  Esquire,  at  Hurs- 
ley,  in  Hampshire :   These. 
"  Dear  Brother,  "  Whitehall,  4th  May,  1654 

"  I  received  your  loving  letter,  for  which  I  thank  you : 
•  Chateaubriand,  Les  Ciuatre  Stuards,  179. 
t  Noble,  i.  330.     Carlyle,  iii.  11. 


THE    DiOTECTOKATK. 


15Y 


and  surely  were  it  fit  to  proceed  in  that  business,  you  should 
not  in  the  least  have  been  put  upon  anything  but  the  trou- 
ble ;  for  indeed  the  land  in  Essex,  with  some  money  in  my 
hand,  should  have  gone  towards  it. 

"  But  indeed  I  am  so  unwilling  to  be  a  seeker  after  the 
world,  having  had  so  much  favor  from  the  Lord  in  giving  me 
so  much  without  seeking :  and  am  so  unwilling  that  men 
should  think  me  so,  which  they  will  though  you  only  appear 
in  it  (for  they  will,  by  one  means  or  other,  know  it),  that 
indeed  I  dare  not  meddle  or  proceed  therein.  Thus  I  have 
told  you  ray  plain  thoughts. 

"  My  hearty  love  I  present  to  you  and  my  sister,  my  bless- 
ing and  love  to  dear  Doll  and  the  little  one.  With  love  to 
all,  I  rest, 

"  Your  loving  brother, 

"Oliver  P." 

Oliver  knew  that  the  love  of  mo^iey  is  ihe  root  of  all  evil. 
We  often  find  him  giving  away  considerable  sums  for  useful 
purposes,  but  never  a  prey  to  i\\os>Q  foolish  and  hurtful  lusts, 
of  which  the  apostle  speaks,  and  which  exist  in  those  that 
will  be  rich. 

The  Parliament,  for  this  was  the  name  assumed  by  the 
Notables,  showed  themselves  equal  to  their  vocation,  and 
endeavored  with  conscientious  zeal  to  introduce  the  most 
important  ameliorations  into  the  commonwealth.  They  estab- 
lished order  and  economy  in'  the  finances,  bettered  the  con- 
dition of  the  prisoners,  and  suppressed  a  tax  that  was  reck- 
oned arbitrary.  They  further  desired  to  give  the  nation  that 
inestimable  benefit — a  code  of  laws  ;  to  abolish  presentations, 
so  that  every  parish  might  choose  its  own  minister ;  to 
suppress  tithes  ;  diminish  the  army ;  and  purify  the  clergy. 
All  these  projects  excited  a  strong  opposition. 

Oliver  endeavored  to  reconcile  every  exasperated  feeling, 
and  sought  after  that  blessing  which  is  promised  to  the 
2>eace-makers.    He  said  with  St.  Paul :  If  there  be  any  conso- 

14 


168  THE    PROTECTORATlt. 

lation  in  Christ,  if  any  comfort  of  love,  if  any  fellowship  of 
the  Spirit,  if  ajny  bowels  and  mercies,  fulfil  ye  my  joy,  that 
ye  he  like-minded,  Imving  the  same  love,  being  of  one  accord, 
of  one  mind.  But  all  was  ineffectual ;  for  his  enemies  were 
entirely  blind  to  the  spirit  of  that  love  which  possessed  him. 
On  this  subject  he  poured  out  his  soul  to  Fleetwood.  His- 
tory scarcely  presents  us  another  examjile  of  a  statesman 
in  whose  heart  we  can  read  so  jjlainly  as  in  Cromwell's ; 
all  is  clear  and  transparent ;  there  is  not,  so  to  speak,  in  his 
mind  a  single  deep  affection  hidden  from  us  ;  and  yet  this  is 
the  man  whom  historians  have  charged  with  dissimulation ! 
"We  shall  give  the  letter  he  wrote  to  his  son-in-law,  with 
reference  to  the  quarrels  excited  by  the  Little,  or  as  it  was 
more  frequently  called  in  derision,  Barebone's  Parliament.* 

"  For  the  Right   Honorable   Lieutenant-general  Fleetwood, 
Commander-in-chief  of  the  forces  in  Ireland :   These. 

"  Cockpit,  22d  August,  1653." 
"  Dear  Charles, 

"Although  I  do  not  so  often  as  is  desired  by  me  acquaint 
you  how  it  is  with  me,  yet  I  doubt  not  of  your  prayers  in 
my  behalf,  That,  in  all  things,  I  may  walk  as  becometh  the 
Gospel. 

"  Truly  I  never  more  needed  ail  helps  from  my  Christian 
Friends  than  now !  Fain  would  I  have  ifiy  service  accepted 
of  the  Saints,  if  the  Lord  will ; — but  it  is  not  so.  Being  of 
different  judgments,  and  those  of  each  sort  seeking  most 
to  propagate  their  own,  that  spirit  of  kindness  that  is  (in 
me  ?)  to  them  all,  is  hardly  accepted  of  any.  I  hope  I  can 
say  it.  My  life  has  been  a  willing  sacrifice, — and  I  hope, — 
for  them  all.  Yet  it  much  falls  out  as  when  the  Two  He- 
brews were  rebuked  :  you  know  upon  whom  they  turned 
their  displeasure  (Exod.  ii.  14). 

"  But  the  Lord  is  wise ;  and  will,  I  trust,  make  manifest 
that  I  am  no  enemy.    Oh,  how  easy  is  mercy  to  be  abused : 
•  Harl.  MSS,  No.  7502.  f,  13,     Carlyle.  ii.  424, 


TMB   PROf ECTOR Ate.  159 

—-Persuade  friends  with  you  to  be  very  sober  !  If  the  Day 
of  the  Lord  be  so  near  as  some  saV)  how  should  our  modera- 
tion appear !  If  every  one,  instead  of  contending,  would 
justify  his  form  of  judgment  by  love  and  meekness.  Wisdom 
would  be  '  justi6ed  of  her  children.'     But,  alas  ! 

"  I  am,  in  my  temptation,  ready  to  say :  '  Oh,  would  I 
had  wings  like  a  dove,  for  then  would  I  fly  away  and  be  at 
rest.  Lo,  then  would  I  wander  far  off,  and  remain  in  the 
wilderness,  I  would  hasten  my  escape  from  the  windy  storm 
and  tempest,'  (Ps.  Iv.  6,  7,  8) :  but  this,  I  fear,  is  my 
« haste.'  I  bless  the  Lord  I  have  somewhat  keeps  me  alive  : 
some  sparks  of  the  light  of  His  countenance,  and  some  sin- 
cerity above  man's  judgment.  Excuse  me  thus  unbowelling 
myself  to  you ;  pray  for  me,  and  desire  my  friends  to  do  so 
also.  My  love  to  thy  dear  wife, — whom  indeed  I  entirely 
love,  both  naturally,  and  upon  the  best  account ; — and  my 
blessing  if  it  be  worth  anything,  upon  thy  Uttle  Babe. 

" Remember  my  hearty  affections  to  all  the  officers. 

The  Lord  bless  you  all.     So  prayeth 

"  Your  truly  loving  father, 

"  Oliver  Cromwell." 

"  P.  S. — All  here  love  you,  and  are  in  health,  your  chil- 
dren and  all." 

^^ 

The  opposition  which  the  Little  Parliament  met  with  par- 
alyzed its  exertions.  Of  all  the  projects  discussed,  none 
caused  so  great  excitement  as  that  concerning  the  purifica- 
tion of  the  clergy.  The  debate  continued  ten  days,  and  at 
last,  early  on  Monday  the  12th  of  December,  while  the  strict 
evangelical  party  had  not  yet  assembled  in  the  House,  it  waa 
moved  and  carried  that  as  the  sitting  of  that  parliament  any 
longer  would  not  be  for  the  good  of  the  commonwealth,  it 
should  deliver  up  to  the  Lord  General  Cromwell,  the  pow- 
ers which  it  had  rccLivea  from  him.  This  body  had  sat  fivo 
months  and  twelve  days. 


160  THE    PROTKCTORATK. 

With  the  exception  of  the  Levellers,  all  parties — Royalists, 
and  Episcopalians,  Soldiers  and  Lawyers — now  turned  their 
eyes  to  Cromwell  as  the  sole  means  of  safety  for  England. 

When  he  learnt  the  resolution  of  Parliament,  he  testified 
much  emotion  and  surprise  ;  and  there  is  nothing  to  authorize 
the  supposition,  entertained  by  several  historians,  that  his 
sentiments  mere  not  sincere.  The  army-leaders,  finding 
themselves  a  second  time  invested  with  the  supreme  power, 
resolved  unanimously  to  adopt  a  form  of  government  more 
nearly  assimilating  to  a  monarchy,  the  necessity  of  which  all 
men  acknowledged. 

It  was  decided  that  Cromwell  should  assume  the  title  of 
Lord  Protector  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Exgland, 
Scotland,  and  Ireland  ;  and  that  a  parliament  of  460  mem- 
bers should  be  elected  every  three  years.  If  the  Protector 
neglected  to  issue  the  writs,  the  commissioners  of  the  great 
seal,  and,  in  their  default,  the  high  sheriffs  of  the  counties, 
were  to  do  so  under  pain  of  high-treason.  The  parliament 
could  not  be  dissolved  Avithout  their  own  consent  in  less 
than  five  months. 

All  the  courts  of  Europe  recognized  and  congratulated 
the  new  governor  of  England. 

The  elections  took  place,  and  on  the  4th  of  September, 
1654,  Parliament  met.  The  Protector  rode  in  state  to  the 
abbey-church  in  Westminster,  and  after  the  sermon,  went  to 
the  Painted  Chamber,  in  which  the  sittings  of  this  assembly 
were  to  be  held.  Lenthall,  Fairfax,  and  the  most  illustrious 
men  of  the  revolution  were  present.  Taking  his  seat  in  the 
chair  of  state,  Oliver  addressed  the  members  in  a  speech 
which  lasted  three  hours.*  "  Gentlemen,"  said  he,  "  you 
are  met  here  on  the  greatest  occasion  that,  I  believe,  Eng- 
land ever  saw  ;  having  upon  your  shoulders  the  interest  of 
three  great  nations ;  and  truly,  I  believe  I  may  say  it  with- 
out any  hyperbole,  the  interests  of  all  the  Christian  people 
in  the  world." 

♦  Pari.  Hist.  xx.  318.     Carlyle,  iii.  23. 


THS    PKOTECTOKAIB.  161 

The  result  corresponded  very  meagrely  with  such  high 
expectations.  Instead  of  busying  themselves  with  the  or- 
ganization and  prosperity  of  the  nation,  the  Parliament  began 
to  examine  whether,  or  not,  the  government  should  be 
vested  in  the  hands  of  a  single  person.  On  the  12th  of 
September  the  Protector  again  addressed  them  thus  : — * 

"  Gentlemen, 

" I  called  not  myself  to  this  place  :   of  that,  God  is 

witness : — and  I  have  many  witnesses  who,  I  do  beheve, 
could  lay  down  their  lives  bearing  witness  to  the  truth  of 

that If  my  calling  be  from  God,  and  my  testimony 

from  the  people, — God  and  the  people  shall. take  it  from 
me,  else  I  will  not  part  with  it 

"  I  was  by  birth  a  gentleman  ;  living  neither  in  any  con- 
siderable height,  nor  yet  in  obscurity.  I  have  been  called 
to  several  employments  in  the  nation.  I  did  endeavor  to 
discharge  the  duty  of  an  honest  man,  in  those  services,  to 
God  and  His  people's  interest,  and  to  the  Commonwealth. 

I  begged  to  be  dismissed  of  my  charge ;  I  begged  it 

again  and  again  : — and  God  be  Judge  between  me  and  all 
men  if  I  lie  in  this  matter 

"  In  every  government  there  must  be  somewhat  funda- 
mental, somewhat  like  a  Marjna  Charta,  which  should  be 
standing,  be  unalterable.  .  . .  That  Parliament  should  not  make 
themselves  perpetual  is  a  Fundamental Liberty  of  con- 
science in  religion  (equally  removed  from  profaneness  and  per- 
secution) is  a  Fundamental Another  Fundamental  is  that 

the  power  of  the  Militia  should  be  shared  between  the  Pro- 
tector and   the  Parliament "     To  these  fundamentals 

Cromwell  added  a  fourth,  requiring  all  the  members  of  the 
House  to  sign  a  paper  engaging  themselves  "  to  be  true  ana 
faithful  to  the  Protector  and  the  Commonwealth."  Thre* 
hundred  members  with  the  speaker  at  their  head,  appended 

•  Pari.  Hist.  xx.  349.     Carlyle,  in.  51,  &c. 
11* 


162  THE   PROTECTORATE. 

their  signatures  ;  the  others  absented  themselves  from  parlia- 
ment. 

•^A  painful  domestic  event  occurred  at  this  time  to  divert 
Cromwell's  cares.  His  mother,  an  aged  woman  of  ninety- 
four,  resided  with  him  at  Whitehall.  This  venerable  lady 
combined  the  sincerest  faith  with  the  tenderest  maternal  af- 
fection :  she  cared  little  for  the  royal  pomp  around  her.  The 
sound  of  a  musket  struck  terror  to  her  heart ;  she  thought 
it  was  perhaps  aimed  at  her  son,  and  could  not  be  satisfied 
unless  she  saw  him  once  a-day  at  least.  The  close  of  her 
earthly  career  was  approaching.  On  the  15th  of  November 
she  called  the  mighty  Protector  of  England  to  her  bedside. 
He  had  ever  entertained  for  her  the  most  respectful  and  sin- 
cere affection.  Stretching  out  her  feeble  hands  she  blessed 
him  in  these  words :  "  The  Lord  cause  his  face  to  shine 
upon  you  ;  and  comfort  you  in  all  your  adversities  ;  and  en- 
able you  to  do  graat  things  for  the  gloiy  of  the  Most  High 
God,  and  to  be  a  relief  unto  His  people.  My  dear  Son,  I 
leave  my  heart  with  thee.  Good  night !"  and  therewith  she 
fell  asleep  in  the  Lord.  Her  son  was  heart-broken,  and 
burst  into  a  violent  flood  of  tears. 

The  Parliament  did  not  answer  the  expectations  either  of 
Cromwell  or  of  the  nation.  Forgetful  of  the  wants  of  the 
people,  they  thought  their  whole  duty  consisted  in  struggling 
against  the  Protector,  and  in  refusing  to  grant  him,  so  far  as 
they  were  able,  either  supplies  or  power.  They  went  farther, 
and  infringed  upon  religious  liberty.  The  House  voted  that 
none  should  be  tolerated  who  did  not  profess  the  fundamental 
doctrines  of  Christianity,  and  appointed  a  committee  to  draw 
up  and  lay  before  parliament  a  catalogue  of  these  doctrines. 
This  committee  presented  sixteen  fundamental  articles,*  ex- 
cluding not  only  deists,  socinians,  and  papists,  but  arians, 
antmomians,  quakers,  and  others.  Thus  the  noble  principle 
of  religious  liberty,  which  Oliver  was  called  to  maintain 
throughout  the  world,  was  seriously  compromised.  The 
♦  Neale,  History  of  the  Puritans,  ii.  621 . 


TBS    PROTECTORATE.  168 

revolution  was  sliding  back  towards  bigotry  and  intolerance. 
Could  the  Protector,  the  enemy  of  both,  permit  such  an  erro- 
neous course  to  be  persevered  in  ? 

On  the  22d  of  January,  16.55,  the  five  months — five  lunar 
months  only — fixed  by  the  constitution  having  elapsed,  the 
Lord-general  summoned  the  House  to  meet  him  in  the 
Painted  Chamber. 

"  Numerous  dangers  threaten  the  nation,"  he  said,  "  and 
you  have  done  nothing  to  prevent  them.  The  Cavalier  party 
have  been  designing  and  preparing  to  put  this  nation^  in 
blood  again ;  the  Levellers  are  endeavoring  to  put  us  into 
confusion.  And  these  two  extreme  parties  have  labored  to 
engage  some  in  the  army ;  and  I  doubt  that  not  only  they, 
but  some  others  also,  very  well  known  to  you,  have  helped 
to  this  work  of  debauching  and  dividing  the  army.  The 
enemies  of  the  State  have  confessed  that  they  built  their 
hopes  upon  the  assurance  they  had  of  the  Parliament.  You 
have  given  them  great  advantages  by  losing  the  precious 
moments  in  your  power,  for  effecting  the  happiness  of  the 
people.  You  miglit  have  settled  peace  and  quietness  among 
all  professing  Godliness  ;  you  might  have  healed  the  breaches 
of  these  nations,  and  rendered  them  secure,  happy,  and  well 
satisfied.  You  have  done  none  of  these  things.  But  in- 
stead of  that,  you  have  been  disputing  about  things  already 
settled  by  the  Constitution.  You  h;ive  thus  consumed  all 
vour  time,  and  have  done  nothing." 

Cromwell  reproaches  with  equal  scvi-rity  ui«*ir  iitiacks 
upon  religious  liberty.  He  continued  :  "  Is  there  not  yet 
upon  the  spirits  of  men  a  strange  itching  ?  Nothing  will 
satisfy  them  unless  they  can  press  their  finger  upon  their 
brethren's  consciences,  to  pinch  them  there.  To  do  this  was 
no  part  of  the  contest  we  had  with  the  common  adversary. 
>\n(l  wherein  consisted  this  more  than  in  obtaining  that  lib- 
erty from  the  tyranny  of  the  bishops  to  all  species  of  Pro- 
testants to  worship  God  according  to  their  own  light  and 
consciences  ?     For  want  of  which  many  of  our  brethren  for- 


164  THE   PROTECTORATK. 

sook  their  native  countries  to  seek  their  bread  from  strangers, 
and  to  live  in  howling  wildernesses  ;  and  for  which  also 
many  that  remained  here  were  imprisoned,  and  otherwise 
abused  and  made  the  scorn  of  the  nation.  Those  that  were 
sound  in  the  Faith,  how  proper  was  it  for  them  to  labor  for 
liberty,  for  a  just  liberty,  that  men  might  not  be  trampled 
upon  for  their  consciences  !  Had  not  they  themselves 
labored,  but  lately,  under  the  weight  of  persecution  ?  And 
was  it  fit  for  them  to  sit  heavy  upon  others  ?  Is  it  in- 
genuous to  ask  liberty,  and  not  to  give  it  ? What 

greater  hypocrisy  than  for  those  who  were  oppressed  by  the 
bishops  to  become  the  gi*eatest  oppressors  themselves,  so 
soon  as  their  yoke  was  removed  ?  I  could  wish  that  they 
who  call  for  liberty  now  also  had  not  too  much  of  that  spirit 
if  the  power  were  in  their  hands  ! — As  for  profane  persons, 
blasphemers,  such  as  preach  sedition ;  the  contentious  rail- 
ers,  evil  speakers,  who  seek  by  evil  words  to  corrupt  good 
manners,  persons  of  loose  conversation, — punishment  from 
the  civil  magistrate  ought  to  meet  with  these."* 

Thus  spoke  Cromwell.  The  partisans  of  the  tyranny,  the 
popery,  and  the  debauchery  of  the  Stuarts  may  have  made 
it  fashionable  to  defame  him  ;  but  when  we  hear  him  calling 
with  so  much  energy  for  toleration  towards  his  adversaries 
in  religion,  we  cannot  refuse  him  the  tribute  of  our  admi- 
ration. 

"I  think  it  my  duty  to  tell  you,"  he  added  in  conclusion, 
"  that  it  is  not  for  the  profit  of  these  nations,  nor  for  common 
and  public  good,  for  you  to  continue  here  any  longer.  And 
therefore  I  do  declare  unto  you.  That  I  do  dissolve  this  Par- 
liament." 

••  Oliver  was  eager  to  promote  the  well-being  and  glory  of 
England  ;  and  he  dissolved  the  parliament,  that  he  might  be 
more  at  liberty  in  his  actions.  This  was  the  object  he  had 
in  view  during  all  his  Avars.  On  his  medals  and  his  coins 
were  engraved  these  characteristic  words :  pax  qu.eritur 
*  Pari.  Hist.  xx.  404.     Carlyle,  iii.  103. 


THE    PROTECTORATE.  186 

BBLLO.  Such  was  the  device  he  wore  on  his  coat  of  arras  on 
the. day  of  battle.  Peace  and  the  blessings  of  peace  were  all 
that  he  had  sought  in  war  :  he  now  wished  to  impart  them 
to  his  people.      On  earth  peace  ! 

It  may  be  objected  that  this  dissolution  of  the  parliament 
was  a  crime  against  constitutional  principles  ;  it  may  be  said 
that  under  their  influence  the  prince  (and  Cromwell  was  a 
prince)  ought  not  to  do  good,  if  the  other  constitutional 
powers  are  opposed  to  it.  That  may  be  true  ;  but  if  he 
committed  a  fault — which  is  still  a  matter  of  discussion — it 
was  a  virtuous  fault. 

It  was  not  from  Henry  VIII. ,  nor  from  Elizabeth,  nor  from 
the  Stuarts  that  England  could  learn  this  duty  of  a  sovereign 
to  annihilate  himself.  The  development  of  the  modern 
theory  and  its  realization  in  practice  was  the  task  of  the 
eighteenth  century.  That  of  the  seventeenth  was  of  a  diflFer- 
ent  kind.  * 

Cromwell  had  tried  various  means  to  accomplish  the  work 
which  the  condition  of  the  country  rendered  necessary.  At 
first  he  had  had  recourse  to  an  Assembly  of  Notables,  nomi- 
nated by  himself ;  and  next,  to  a  Parliament  elected  by  the 
nation.  Neither  one  nor  the  other  attained  the  object.  He 
then  thought  that  since  others  were  either  unable  or  un- 
willing to  do  anything,  he  must  apply  himself  to  the  task. 
He  was  soon  found  employing  the  same  activity  in  organizing 
and  building  up,  which  he  had  made  use  of  in  dissolving 
and  throwing  down. 

On  the  19th  of  May,  1649,  the  Commonwealth  was  pro- 
claimed in  England  by  an  act  to  the  following  effect :  "  Be 
it  declared  and  enacted  by  this  present  Parliament,  and  by 
the  authority  of  the  same,  that  the  People  of  England,  and 
of  all  the  dominions  and  territories  thereunto  belonging,  are 
and  shall  be,  and  are  hereby  constituted,  made,  established, 
and  confirmed  to  be,  a  Commonwealth  or  Free  State;  and 
shall  from  henceforth  be  governed  as  a  Commonwealth  and 
Free  State, — by  the  Supreme  Authority  of  this  Nation,  the 


166  THE   PROTECTORATE. 

Representatives  of  the  people  in  Parliament,  and  by  such  as 
they  shall  appoint  and  constitute  officers  and  ministers  under 
them  for  the  good  of  the  People  ;  and  that  without  any  King 
or  House  of  Lords." 

Cromwell  had  now  become  the  head  of  this  Free  State. 
Many  notable  men  of  the  age  had  signified  their  adhesion 
and  their  homage.  The  great  Conde,  the  victor  of  Rocroi, 
Friburg,  and  Nordlingen,  the  friend  of  Boileau  and  Racine, 
addressed  Crpmwell  in  a  letter  (December  1653),  w^hich  is 
but  little  known,  and  which  we  shall  give  here. 

"  I  am  exceedingly  delighted  with  the  justice  that  has 
been  paid  to  your  Highness's  merit  and  virtue.  It  is  in  that 
only  that  England  can  find  her  safety  and  repose,  and  I 
consider  the  people  of  the  Three  Kingdoms  in  the  height  of 
their  glory  at  seeing  their  goods  and  their  lives  intrusted  at 
last  to  the  management  of  so  great  a  man.  For  my  part,  I 
beg  your  Highness  to  believe  that  I  shall  think  myself  most 
happy,  if  I  can  serve  you  on  any  occasion,  and  prove  to  you 
that  no  one  will  be  so  far  as  myself, 
"  Sir, 
"  Your  Highness's 

"  Most  affectionate  servant, 

"  Louis  de  Bourbon-."  * 

Thus  wrote  Conde,  that  great  prince,  over  whose  tomb 
was  heard  the  same  voice,f  which  over  the  grave  of  Henri- 
etta, queen  of  England,  proclaimed  the  nothingness  of  human 
grandeur.  In  many  respects  posterity  has  been  more  severe 
towards  Oliver  than  his  contemporaries  were.  The  reason 
may  be,  that  the  latter  saw  the  events  without  disguise ;  the 
former  has  too  often  vieAved  them  through  the  mists  of  prej- 
udice and  the  confusion  of  parties. 

Great  Britain  is  certainly  not  fitted  for  a  Republic ;  and 
the  establishment  of  this  form  of  government  in  England  has 
at  all  times  excited  great  opposition.  We  are  by  no  means 
*  Revue  Nouvelle,  1846.  3'J9.  t  Bossuet. 


THE    PROTECTORATE.  167 

inclined  to  be  its  apologist ;  but  did  not  this  form  really 
proceed  from  the  developments  of  history  ?  Will  any  one 
venture  to  assert  that  at  the  era  of  its  existence  it  was  really 
an  evil  ? 

The  ancient  English  principles  were  disappearing.  New 
and  foreign  principles  were  intruding  themselves  into  the 
nation.  The  political  ideas  of  France  were  imported  into 
England.  Richelieu  had  urged  forward  the  great  work  to 
which  he  had  devoted  his  life, ...the  royal  supremacy,  ab- 
solute power ;  and  Louis  XIV.  was  then  completing  the 
revolution  begun  by  that  powerful  minister,  and  proclaiming 
in  Europe  a  new  system,  one  unknown  to  the  Middle  Ages, 
all  the  articles  of  which  were  reduced  to  this  brief  but  sig- 
nificant phrase :  L'etat,  c'est  moi. 

When  Charles  I.  sought  a  French  wife,  he  sought  also  a 
new  policy.  Henrietta  brought  to  the  court  of  England  the 
manners,  amusements,  and  spirit  of  France.  Nor  was  that 
all :  she  desired  also  to  give  it  a  king  after  the  French 
model.  That  was  the  main  point.  The  monarch  was  to 
become  a  sort  of  deity  placed  on  a  lofty  pedestal,  and  the 
people,  crowding  around  its  base,  were  to  fall  down,  admire, 
and  worship.  Charles  earnestly  applied  to  the  task,  and 
some  of  his  first  exploits  were,  as  we  have  seen,  to  silence 
the  representatives  of  the  people,  to  levy  taxes  forbidden 
by  the  Commons,  and  to  govern  without  a  Parliament.  He 
would,  indeed,  have  allowed  a  few  petitions, . . .  very  humble 
petitions ;  but  that  was  all.  There  must  be  no  opposition. 
There  must  be  in  England,  as  in  France,  but  one  will. 
Magna  Ckarta  was  banished  to  the  state-paper-oflSce,  and 
the  barons  found  a  master.  Absolutism  had  ascended  the 
English  throne. 

Thus  it  was  a  real  revolution  which  Charles  I.  undertook 
to  effect,  and  the  English  people,  by  opposing  it,  opposed  a 
revolt  against  the  oldest  institutions  of  the  country.  The 
cavaliers  were  the  revolutionists  :  the  roundheads  the  con- 
Bervatives.     The  establishment  of  the  democratical  system 


168  THE    PROTECTORATE. 

was  a  necessary  reaction  against  the  invasion  of  the  absolute 
system.  The  founder  of  the  EngHsh  Republic  was  not 
Cromwell,  but  in  reality  Charles  the  First. 

Not  only  hberty,  but  nationality  also  was  at  stake.  The 
cavaliers  were  Versailles  courtiers  with  British  faces  and  an 
English  tongue.  The  roundheads  were  good,  honest  old 
Englishmen.  Charles's  efforts  to  establish  Richelieu's  sys- 
tem in  England  was  a  French  invasion,  which,  if  it  had  suc- 
ceeded, would  have  been  far  more  disastrous  than  that  of 
William  the  Conqueror.  The  arms  of  the  English  were 
more  successful  in  the  l7th  century  than  Harold's  had  been. 
There  was  not  then  a  battle  of  Hastings,  but  there  was,  alas ! 
a  battle  of  Whitehall ;  and  in  this  struggle  also  a  king  per- 
ished. The  king  of  Hastings  contended  with  his  people 
against  the  foreigner ;  the  king  of  Whitehall  fought  with  the 
foreigner  against  his  own  people.  The  result  of  the  one  was 
the  subjugation  of  England ;  of  the  other  its  deliverance. 
The  conquest  which  ruined  the  Stuarts  was  the  defeat  of 
modern  despotism,  of  the  French  spirit,  and  of  the  papal 
supremacy.  The  history  of  absolutism  in  England  was  an 
ephemeral  romance,  a  French  novel,  which  has  served  as  the 
ground-work  of  other  romances  and  graphic  novels  in  more 
recent  days. 

But  was  this  its  only  use  ? Undoubtedly  not ;  there 

were  others  certainly  of  greater  importance.  The  onset  of 
absolutism  awoke  English  liberty,  which  lay  sleeping,  and 
which  would  have  slept  longer  still,  and  all  Europe  with  it. 
But  this  violent  blow  aroused  her :  she  rose,  she  stood  erect, 
as  she  is  to  this  day,  and  will  remain  so,  Deo  juvante,  until 
the  end  of  time.  Liberty  did  more  than  simply  awake  from 
her  slumbers.  Re-tempered  in  modern  times,  she  started 
up  stronger,  more  complete,  and  more  profound.  This 
awakening  was  almost  a  new  creation.  Perhaps  this  inter- 
lude of  despotism,  accompanied  a  la  FranQaise  with  music 
and  dancing,  was  destined  to  be  placed  between  these  two 


THE    PROTECTORATE.  169 

liberties, of  the  Middle  Ages  and  of  modern  times,  in 

order  to  decide  their  transformatij)n. 

It  was  necessary  that  all  the  elements  of  feudality,  of 
corporations,  of  classes,  whose  rights  and  privileges  consti- 
tuted the  liberty  of  the  Middle  Ages,  should  be  mingled  and 

confounded  together,  in  order  that  a  new  power, 

the  power  of  the  common-law,  should  rise  above  and  nde 
over  them.  The  hberty  of  the  Great  Charter  and  of  the 
Middle  Ages  was,  in  an  especial  manner,  that  of  the  aris- 
tocracy. The  liberty  of  the  people  was  now  to  be  inaugu- 
rated. The  charter  of  the  thirteenth  century  was  the  eman- 
cipation of  the  Barons ;  the  revolution  of  the  seventeenth 
century  was  the  manumission  of  the  Commons.  Freedom  is 
as  necessary  for  the  people  as  for  the  peers.  The  commons 
had  been  too  long  trodden  under  foot  alike  by  prince  and 
baron.  They  then  took  their  place  at  the  side  of  these  two 
powers,  and  there  Westminster  still  beholds  them  seated  and 
enjoying  great  influence.  The  nobles  had  often  been  more 
despotic  over  the  people,  than  the  king.  Do  we  not  see  this, 
even  in  the  present  day,  in  Scotland,  where,  while  the  crown 
asserts  and  nobly  maintains  religious  liberty,  a  small  number 
of  landed  proprietors,  among  whom  are  men  of  noble  char- 
acter and  of  great  respectability,  refuses  to  a  portion  of  the 
poor  the  liberty  of  assembUng  in  peace  to  sing  their  psalms 
and  worship  God  ?*  Notwithstanding  the  revolution  of  the 
seventeenth  century  and  the  two  centuries  which  have  since 
elapsed,  aristocratic  despotism  is  not  entirely  effaced  in  Great 
Britain ;  and  while,  generally  speaking,  liberty  has  no  more 
noble  defenders  than  the  powerful  lords  who  are  to  be  found 
immediately  below  the  throne,  there  are  still  here  and  there 
in  certain  castles  a  few  dark  recesses,  in  which  absolutism 
lies  concealed.  But  it  is  at  its  last  gasp  ;  it  can  no  longer 
defend  itself,  and  the  attack  made  upon  it  by  the  progress  of 
t'ue  age  will  no  doubt  soon  drive  it  from  its  gloomy  lair,  to 

*  Tlie  refusal  of  sites,  against  which  some  of  the  chiefs  of  the  present 
ininistry  have  protested  in  the  Commons. 

15 


lYO  'J  HE    PROTECTOKATK. 

be  sacrificed  in  the  open  light  of  day.  I  may  be  mistaken, 
but  I  hope  the  victim  will  fall  by  the  hands  of  these  noble 
lords  themselves. 

Thus  the  French  absolutism,  thrust  by  the  Stuarts  on  the 
people  of  England,  produced  the  effect  of  those  iced  waters 
which,  being  poiired  over  the  body,  excite  immediately  a 
powerful  reaction,  increase  the  circulation  of  the  blood,  and 
give  to  the  entire  man  a  new  warmth  and  a  new  life. 

The  despotism  of  Charles  I.  brought  on  the  transition 
from  an  imperfect  state,  which  still  lived  on  privileges,  to  a 
real  and  rational  state,  in  which  liberty  was  proclaimed  a 
common  good. 

If  Charles  began  this  transformation  by  following  the  les- 
sons of  despotism,  which  he  had  learnt  of  a  popish  court, 
OUver  Ci'omwell  accomplished  it  by  the  principles  of  Chris- 
tianity and  true  liberty,  which  he  had  found  in  the  Gospel. 

He  accomplished  it  not  only  by  spurring  the  coursers  so 
long  as  they  had  to  climb  the  hill,  but  by  holding  them  back 
when  the  summit  was  reached  and  they  had  to  descend.  It 
AviU  no  doubt  be  urged  that  he  sometimes  had  recourse  to 
the  same  means  as  Charles  I.,  and  that  he  also  could  dismiss 
the  Commons.  We  do  not  absolve  him  from  all  blame  ;  but 
it  should  be  remembered,  that  the  same  act  in  different  cir- 
cumstances may  have  very  contrary  meanings.  By  sad  ex- 
perience in  our  age,  the  idea  has  become  a  truism,  that 
liberty  may  be  preserved,  not  only  by  combating  despotism, 
but  also  by  saving  it  from  its  own  excesses.  The  soldier  who 
defends  his  flag  against  the  enemies  who  attack  liim  in  front, 
may  aftei-wards  face  round  and  defend  it  from  those  who 
attack  him  from  behind.  He  has  certainly  turned  his  back ; 
but  he  stiU  wields  his  sword  in  the  same  cause  ;  he  is  still 
faithful  to  the  same  colors. 


CHAPTER    IX 

f)UGANIZATr<>\    (IF    furiMIf     \vn    STATE. 

Necessity  of  Organizution— Dci-iisuisiii-al  ( ■orniuiss.-on — Errors — Impar- 
tiality— Baxter's  Testimony — Cromwell's — The  State — Diseontenta— 
Letter  to  Fleetwood — Bridget's  Anxiety — Indulgence — The  ^lajor- 
Generals — Cromwell's  System  in  Ireland — Official  and  Popular  Prot- 
estantism— Puritan  Mannerism — A  better  Christianity. 

Cromwell  was  not  the  only  one  who  thought  he  had  re- 
ceived a  call  from  heaven  :  many  of  the  greatest  men  of  the 
kingdom  were  of  the  same  opinion.  Milton  in  particular 
believed  that  the  Protectorate  was  a  thing  required  by  the 
necessities  of  the  times  and  the  everlasting  laws  of  justice, 
and  that  the  Protector  ought  now  to  fulfil  the  duties  of  the 
charge  to  which  he  had  been  summoned  by  the  nation,  like 
a  Christian  hero,  as  he  had  been  used  to  do  in  things  of  less 
importance.  It  is  an  honor  to  Oliver  to  have  received  this 
testimony  of  respect  and  approbation  from  the  bard  of  Para- 
dise Lost.     He  knew  how  to  satisfy  such  great  expectations. 

In  a  country  like  England,  after  a  revolution  which  had 
just  shaken  it  to  its  foundations,  it  was  of  primary  impor- 
tance to  regulate  religion  and  the  clergy.  Episcopacy  was 
nearly  overthrown,  and  Presbyterianism  was  not  yet  estab- 
lished. Old  abuses  frequently  existed  by  the  side  of  new 
errors.  Cromwell  did  not  think  the  Church  capable  of 
organizing  itself,  and  he  felt  it  hi.s  duty  to  put  his  hand  to 
the  work.  We  should  have  preferred  his  leaving  to  the 
Church  the  power  of  self-government,  but  must  in  all  truth 
acknowledge,  that  without  tliis   mighty  aid  it  would  have 


1 


172  ORGANIZATION    OF    CHURCH    AND    STATE. 

been  difficult  to  bring  order  and  regularity  out  of  the  chaos 
in  which  the  country  was  then  laboring.  It  was  therefore 
one  of  the  first  objects  of  the  Protector's  solicitude. 

Even  before  the  dissolution  of  parliament,  he  had  been 
seriously  engaged  in  the  organization  of  the  Church.  On  the 
20th  of  March,  1654,  he  had  nominated  thirty-eight  chosen 
men,  the  acknowledged  flower  of  puritanism,  who  were  to 
form  a  Supreme  Commission  for  the  Trial  of  Public  Preach- 
ers. Any  person  pretending  to  hold  a  church-living,  or  levy 
tithes  or  clergy-dues,  was  first  to  be  tried  and  approved  by 
these  men.  Of  these  thirty-eight,  nine  were  laymen,  and 
twenty-nine  Avere  clergymen.  The  Protector  had  no  wish 
that  this  Commission  should  be  composed  of  Presbyterians 
alone,  fearful  that  in  this  case  they  would  admit  none  but 
men  of  their  own  persuasion.  It  contained  Presbyterians, 
Independents,  and  even  Baptists.  He  had  cared  for  one 
thing  onlj%  that  they  should  be  men  of  wisdom,  and  had  the 
love  of  the  Gospel  in  their  hearts.  Among  their  number 
were  Owen,  Sterry,  Marshall,  Manton,  and  others.  To  this 
ordinance  he  added  another  on  the  28th  of  August  follow- 
ing, nominating  a  body  of  commissioners  selected  from  the 
Puritan  gentr3\  These  latter,  who  were  distinct  from  the 
former,  were  from  fifteen  to  thirty  in  each  county  of  Eng- 
land ;  and  it  was  their  duty  to  inquire  into  "  scandalous, 
ignorant,  and  insufiicient  ministers,"  and  to  be  a  tribunal  for 
judging  and  ejecting  them.  In  case  of  ejection,  a  small  pen- 
sion was  to  be  allowed  those  who  were  married.  These 
commissioners  judged  and  sifted  until  by  degrees  they  had 
winnowed  the  Church.  This  was  undoubtedly  a  very  repub- 
lican arrangement,  but  it  was  found  in  practice  to  work  well. 

Of  the  lay  inquisitors  not  a  few  were  Cromwell's  political 
enemies ;  but  that  mattered  not ;  they  were  men  of  pious 
probity,  and  that  was  enough  for  him. 

The  task  assigned  to  these  persons  was  by  no  means  easy, 
and  nothing  was  more  calculated  to  excite  discontent.  And 
accordingly,  loud  complaints  were  heard  both  from  Episco- 


ORGANIZATIOX    OK    CIIUKUH    AND    STATE.  lY3 

palians  and  heterodox  dissenters.  These  Triers,  as  they  are 
sometimes  called,  were  charged  with  pa}ing  little  attention 
to  knowledffe  or  learning,  and  with  inquiring  too  much  into 
the  internal  marks  and  character  of  the  grace  of  God  in  the 
heart.  No  doubt  they  committed  many  errors — inevitable 
errors ;  but  a  great  number  of  cases  might  be  produced  in 
refutation  of  the  charges  brought  against  them.  Yor  exam- 
j)le,  the  celebrated  historian  Fuller,  who  as  the  king's  par- 
tisan, had  lost  his  place  under  the  Parliament,  and  whose 
principles  were  not  only  Episcopalian,  but  Hicih  Church,  who 
afterwards  showed  such  activity  for  the  recall  of  Charles  II., 
who  became  this  king's  chaplain,  and  who  would  have  been 
made  a  bishop  if  death  had  not  cut  short  his  career  in  1661, 
— this  veiy  man  was  presented  to  a  living  by  the  Triers  at 
Cromwell's  recommendation,  although  they  could  find  no 
other  evidence  of  the  grace  of  God  in  him  than  this :  Tlvat 
he  made  conscience,  of  his  thouffhts. 

The  e.xcellent  Richard  Baxter  has  left  us  the  following  fair 
and  candid  account  of  these  Commissioners  : — "  Because  this 
assembly  of  Triers  is  most  heavily  accused  and  reproached 
bv  some  men,  I  shall  speak  the  truth  of  them,  and  suppose 
my  word  will  be  taken,  because  most  of  them  took  me  for 
one  of  their  boldest  adversaries :  the  truth  is,  though  some 
few  over-rigid  and  over-busy  independents  among  them  were 
too  severe  against  all  that  were  Arminians,  and  too  particular 
in  inquiring  after  evidences  of  sanctificalion  in  those  whom 
they  examined,  and  somewhat  too  lax  in  admitting  of  un- 
learned and  erroneous  men,  that  favored  antinomianism  or 
anabaptism  ;  yet,  to  give  them  their  due,  they  did  abundance 
of  good  to  the  Clmrch.  They  saved  many  a  congregation 
from  ignorant,  ungodly,  drunken  teachers,  that  sort  of  men 
who  intend  no  more  in  the  ministry  than  to  read  a  sermon  on 
Sunday,  and  all  the  rest  of  the  week  go  with  the  people  to 
the  alehouse,  and  harden  them  in  sin ;  and  that  sort  of  min- 
isters who  cither  preached  against  a  holy  life,  or  preached  as 
men  that  were  never  acquainted  with  it :  these  they  usually 
15* 


174  ORGANIZATION    OF    CHURCH    AND    STATE. 

rejected,  and  in  their  stead  admitted  of  any  that  were  able, 
serious  preachers,  and  lived  a  godly  life,  of  what  tolerable 
opinion  soever  they  were ;  so  that  though  many  of  them  were 
a  little  partial  for  the  Independents,  separatists,  fifth-mon- 
archy men,  and  Anabaptists,  and  against  the  prelatists  and 
Arrainians,  yet  so  gieat  was  the  benefit  above  the  hurt  which 
they  brought  to  the  Church,  that  many  thousands  of  souls 
blessed  God  for  the  faithful  ministers  whom  they  let  in,  and 
grieved  when  the  prelatists  afterwards  cast  them  out  again."* 

We  must  observe  that  the  ejected  ministers  were  only 
excluded  from  the  privileges  of  the  national  ministry ;  they 
were  not  deprived  of  religious  liberty. 

The  regulations  of  the  Triers  had  especial  reference  to 
moral  incapacity.  The  ordinance  of  the  28th  of  August, 
1654,  enjoined  the  dismissal  of  all  ministers  who  should  be 
guilty  of  profane  cursing  and  swearing,  perjury,  adultery, 
fornication,  drunkenness,  common  haimting  of  taverns  or 
alehouses,  frequent  quarrellings  or  fightings,  &c.  Those 
who  maintained  popish  opinions  were  also  to  be  ejected. 

The  Episcopalians  were  not  proscribed  ;  but  a  frequent 
use  of  the  book  of  Common  Prayer  in  public  was  a  ground 
of  exclusion :  this  was  alike  intolerant  and  inconsistent. 
Still  there  were  certain  specious  reasons  for  this  limitation, 
and  undoubtedly  it  has  never  been  maintained  that  a  man 
cannot  be  a  conscientious  Episcopalian  without  the  Prayer- 
book  ;  which  would  be  setting  it  on  a  level  with  the  Bible. 

Cromwell  in  his  speech  to  the  second  parliament,  delivered 
on  the  21st  of  April,  1657,  thus  alludes  to  these  ordi- 
nances : — "  And  truly  we  have  settled  very  much  of  the 
business  of  the  ministry.  But  I  must  needs  say,  if  I  have 
anything  to  rejoice  in  before  the  Lord  in  this  world,  as 
having  done  any  good  or  service,  it  is  this.  I  can  say  it 
from  my  heart ;  and  I  know  I  say  the  truth,  let  any  man 
say  what  he  will  to  the  contrary, — he  will  give  me  leave  to 
enjoy  my  own  opinion  in  it,  and  my  own  conscience  and 
♦  Baxter's  Life,  part  i.  72. 


ORGANIZATION    OF    CMLRCII    AND    STATB.  176 

heart ;  and  to  dure  bear  my  testimoiij-  to  it :  there  hath  not 
been  such  a  service  to  England,  bince  the  Christian  religion 
was  perfect  in  England  !  I  dare  be  bold  to  say  it ;  however, 
there  may  have,  here  and  there,  been  passion  and  mistakes. 
And  the  ministers  themselves  will  tell  you,  it  is  beside  their 
instructions,  if  they  have  fallen  into  passions  and  mistakes, 
if  they  have  meddled  with  civil  matters 

"  And  if  the  grounds  upon  which  we  went  will  not  justify 
us,  the  issue  and  event  of  it  doth  abundantly  justify  us,  God 
having  had  exceeding  glory  by  it, — in  the  generality  of  it,  I 
am  confident,  forty-fold  !  For  as  heretofore  the  men  that 
were  admitted  into  the  ministry  in  times  of  episcopacy — alas, 
what  pitiful  certificates  served  to  make  a  man  a  minister ! 
If  any  man  could  understand  Latin  and  Greek,  he  was  sure 

to  be  admitted I  am  sure  the  admission  granted  to 

such  places  since  has  been  under  this  character  as  the  rule  : 
That  they  must  not  admit  a  man  unless  they  (the  Triers) 
were  able  to  discern  something  of  the  grace  of  God  in  him. 
Such  and  such  a  man,  of  whose  good  life  and  conversation 
they  could  have  a  very  good  testimony  from  four  or  five  of 
the  neighboring  ministers  who  knew  him, — he  could  not  yet 
be  admitted  unless  he  could  give  a  very  good  testimony  of 
the  grace  of  God  in  him."* 

But  if  it  was  necessary  to  set  the  Church  in  order,  it  was 
not  less  necessary  to  do  the  same  thing  for  the  State.  The 
royalists  and  the  levellers  coalesced,  and  the  latter  boldly  de- 
clared that  they  would  prefer  Charles  Stuart  to  Cromwell. 
Even  some  of  the  men  for  whom  the  Protector  entertained 
the  sincerest  aflection  inclined  to  the  side  of  the  discon- 
tented republicans.  Among  them  was  his  own  son-in-law, 
then  lord-lieutenant  of  Ireland.  Cromwell  endeavored  to 
remove  prejudices  and  to  maintain  peace.  He  sent  to  Fleet- 
wood his  second  son  Henry,  a  man  of  real  insight,  veracity, 
and  resolution,  and  at  the  same  time  wrote  the  following 
letter,  in  which  he  manifests  his  great  anxiety  for  concord. 
•  Somen'  Trart*,  vi.  389.     Carlyle,  iii.  360. 


176  OBOANIZATION    OF    CHURCH    AND   STATE. 

"  To  the  Lord  Fleetwood,  Lord  Deputy  of  Ireland. ^^ 

"  Whitehall,  22d  June,  1655. 
"  Dear  Charles, 

"  I  write  not  often  :  at  once  I  desire  thee  to  know  I 
most  dearly  love  thee  ;  and  indeed  my  heart  is  plain  to  thee, 
as  thy  heart  can  well  desire  :  let  nothing  shake  thee  in  this. 
The  wretched  jealousies  that  are  amongst  us,  and  the  spirit 
of  calumny,  turn  all  into  gall  and  wormwood.  My  heart  is 
for  the  people  of  God ;  that  the  Lord  knows,  and  will  in  due 
time  manifest ;  yet  thence  are  my  wounds  ; — Avhich  though 
it  grieves  me,  yet  through  the  grace  of  God  doth  not  dis- 
courage me  totally.  Many  good  men  are  repining  at  every- 
thing ;  though  indeed  very  many  good  are  well  satisfied, 
and  satisfying  daily.  The  will  of  the  Lord  will  bring  forth 
good  in  due  time. 

"  It's  reported  that  you  are  to  be  sent  for,  and  Harry  to 
be  Deputy ;  which  truly  never  entered  into  my  heart.  The 
Lord  knows,  my  desire  was  for  him  and  his  brother  to  have 
lived  private  lives  in  the  country  :  and  Harry  knows  this 
very  well,  and  how  difficultly  I  was  persuaded  to  give  him 
his  commission  for  his  present  place.  This  I  say  as  from  a 
simple  and  sincere  heart.  The  noise  of  my  being  crowned, 
&c.,  are  similar  malicious  figments 

"  Dear  Charles,  my  dear  love  to  thee ;  and  to  my  dear 
Biddy,  who  is  a  joy  to  my  heart,  for  what  I  hear  of  the 
Lord  in  her.  Bid  her  be  cheerful,  and  rejoice  in  the  Lord 
once  and  again :  if  she  knows  the  Covenant  (of  Grace),  she 
cannot  but  do  so.  For  that  Transaction  is  without  her  ;  sure 
and  steadfast,  between  the  Father  and  the  Mediator  in  His 
blood.  Therefore,  leaning  upon  the  Son,  or  looking  to  Him, 
thirstinop  after  Him,  and  embracina:  Him,  we  are  his  Seed : — ■ 
and  the  Covenant  is  sure  to  all  the  Seed.  The  Compact  is 
for  the  Seed  ;  God  is  bound  in  faithfulness  to  Christ,  and  in 
Him,  to  us.  The  Covenant  is  without  us ;  a  Transaction 
between  God  and  Christ.     Look  up  to  it.     God  engageth 


ORGANIZATION    OF    CIIfRCH    AND    STATE.  177 

in  it  to  pardon  us  ;  to  write  His  law  in  our  heart ;  to  plant 
His  fear  so  that  we  shall  never  depart  from  Him.  We, 
under  all  our  sins  and  infirmities,  can  daily  offer  a  perfect 
Christ ;  and  thus  Ave  have  peace  and  safety,  and  apprehen- 
sion of  love,  from  a  Father  in  Covenant, — who  cannot  deny 
himself.  And  trulj'  in  this  is  all  ray  salvation  ;  and  this 
helps  me  to  bear  my  great  burdens. 

"  If  you  have  a  mind  to  come  over  with  your  dear  wife, 
take  the  best  opportunity  for  the  good  of  the  public  and 
your  own  convenience.  The  Lord  bless  you  all.  Pray  for 
me,  that  the  Lord  would  direct,  and  keep  me  His  servant. 
I  bless  the  Lord  I  am  not  my  own  ;  but  my  condition  to 
flesh  and  blood  is  very  hard.  Pray  for  me  ;  I  do  for  you  all. 
Commt'iid  iiip  fo  nil  friciuls  ''T  rest 

Your  loving  father, 

"Oliver  P."* 

"^rhis  letter,  although  somewhat  obscure,  is  nevertheless 
important  to  the  knowledge  of  Cromwell's  Christian  charac- 
ter. We  have  already  reproached  him  with  a  kind  of  mys- 
ticism, nearly  resembling  that  of  certain  pious  but  unen- 
lightened Christians  who  set  what  they  call  the  inner  Word 
above  what  they  denominate  the  outer  Word,  and  who  seek 
the  rule  of  their  conduct  not  essentially  without  them, — in 
the  commandments  of  God  as  given  in  the  Bible  ;  but  pref- 
erably within  them, — in  impulses  and  feelings  in  the  cor- 
rectness of  which  it  is  easy  to  be  deceived.  The  Protector's 
mysticism  might  have  gone  farther.  There  are  indeed  Chris- 
tians for  whom  the  cau.se  of  salvation  is  not  essentially  the 
work  accomplished  by  the  Redeemer  on  the  cross,  but  that 
perfected  by  the  Holy  Ghost  in  their  hearts.  Both  are  ab- 
solutely necessary :  but  the  first  is  the  cause  of  salvation ; 
the  second,  the  means  of  applying  or  appropriating  it,  with- 
out which  the  other  is  a  thing  foreign  to  the  individual. 
Those  who  think  that  the  Christian  ought  to  look  at  what  is 
•  Cnrlylc,  iii.  136. 


178  ORGANIZATION    OF    CHURCH    AND    STATE. 

within  him,  to  have  the  assurance  of  his  salvation  (as  certain 
mystics,  both  Papist  and  Protestant,  do)  and  not  to  the  blood 
of  the  victim  slain  on  Calvary,  deprive  the  soul,  which  is 
looking  for  justification  and  peace,  of  every  real  source  of 
consolation  in  the  day  of  trouble  and  of  sorrow.  The  work 
of  Christ's  expiation  is  perfect ;  but  that  of  our  own  sanctifi- 
cation  is  always  attended  with  great  wretchedness,  and  there- 
fore can  give  no  assurance, — no  confidence  to  an  alarmed 
conscience.  Cromwell  protests  energetically  against  any 
such  error.  Wishing  to  comfort  his  daughter  Bridget,  who 
appears  to  have  felt  some  uneasiness  with  regard  to  her  soul, 
he  bids  her  look  to  the  covenant  of  grace :  he  reminds  her 
that  this  covenant  is  independent  of  her  ;  that  it  is  between 
the  Father  and  the  Son  by  the  blood  of  the  Mediator ;  that 
it  is  without  us, — a  transaction  between  God  and  Christ. 
This  letter  (and  there  are  other  of  Cromwell's  declarations 
which  have  the  same  bearing)  seems  to  me  important  in 
proving  that  if  in  one  special  point, — the  rule  of  a  Chris- 
tian's conduct,  he  deviated  a  little  from  the  path  traced  out 
for  us  by  the  Gospel,  he  remained  steadfast  in  it  so  far  as 
concerns  the  foundation  of  faith, — ^the  work  of  redemption. 

The  royalists,  and  above  all  the  levellers,  continued  their 
agitation.  The  latter  especially  caused  great  disturbance ; 
and  yet  Oliver  always  behaved  mildly  towards  them.  There 
may  have  been  a  degree  of  politic  discretion  in  this  forbear- 
ance, but  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  many  examples  of  the 
like  disposition. 

Although  indulgence  might  be  seasonable,  it  'was  not  the 
less  necessary  to  maintain  order.  For  this  purpose  the  Pro- 
tector divided  all  England  into  twelve  districts,  placing  in 
each,  with  the  title  of  Major-general,  a  man  most  carefully 
chosen, — fearing  God,  possessed  of  real  wisdom,  and  of  im- 
impeachable  integrity.  These  officers  were  invested  with  a 
universal  superintendence,  as  well  civil  as  military,  even  to 
the  control  of  the  ministers.  "  These  Major-generals,"  said 
he  in  his  speech  of  the  seventeenth  September,  1656,  "  have 


ORGANIZATION    OK    CHtKCH    AND    STATU.  1*79 

been  effectual  for  the  preservation  of  peace.  It  hath  been 
more  effectual  towards  the  discountenancing  of  vice  and  set- 
tling religion,  than  anything  done  these  fifty  years.  I  will 
abide  by  it,  notwithstanding  the  envy  and  slander  of  foolish 
men."  Not  long  after,  however,  he  reduced  their  power, 
which  had  occasioned  several  abuses,  and  as  the  state  of  the 
coimtry  became  daily  more  satisfactory,  he  finally  suppressed 
them. 

Such  were  the  first  exertions  of  Cromwell  for  the  civil  and 
ecclesiastical  regeneration  and  organization  of  England. 

At  the  same  time  his  eyes  were  turned  towards  Ireland, 
and  his  policy  with  regard  to  that  unhappy  country,  was  at 
once  patient,  moderate,  and  firm.  It  was  still  agitated  :  ha- 
tred, revolt,  and  anarchy  had  yet  to  be  dealt  with.  Let  us 
see  what  directions  he  gave  his  son  Henry. 

"  For  my  Son,  Henry  Cromwell,  at  Dublin,  Ireland. 

"  Whitehall,  2l8t  November,  1655. 
"  Son, 

"  1  have  seen  your  letter  writ  unto  Mr.  Secretary  Thui'- 
loe  ;  and  do  find  hereby  that  you  are  very  apprehensive  of 
the  carriage  of  some  pereons  with  you,  towards  yourself  and 
the  public  affairs. 

"  I  do  believe  there  may  be  some  particular  persons  who 
are  not  very  well  pteased  with  the  present  condition  of 
things,  and  may  be  apt  to  show  their  discontent  as  they 
have  opportunity :  but  this  should  not  make  too  great  im- 
pressions in  you.  Time  and  patience  may  work  them  to  a 
better  frame  of  spirit,  and  bring  them  to  see  that  which,  for 
the  present,  seems  to  be  hid  from  them  ;  especially  if  they 
shall  see  your  moderation  and  love  towards  them,  if  they 
are  found  in  otlier  ways  towards  you.  Which  I  earnestly 
desire  you  to  study  and  endeavor,  all  that  lies  in  you. 
Whereof  both  you  and  I  too  shall  have  the  comfort,  what- 
soever the  issue  and  event  thereof  be. 


180  ORGANIZATION    Oi-     CHURCH    AND    STATE. 

"  For  what  you  write  of  more  help,  I  have  long  en- 
deavored it ;  and  shall  not  be  wanting  to  send  you  some 
farther  addition  to  the  Council,  so  soon  as  men  can  be  found 
out  who  are  fit  for  the  trust.  I  am  also  thinking  of  sending 
over  to  you  a  fit  person  who  may  command  the  north  of  Ire- 
land ;  which  I  believe  stands  in  great  need  of  one  ;  and  I  am 
of  your  opinion  that  Trevor  and  Colonel  Mervin  are  very 
dangerous  persons,  and  may  be  made  the  heads  of  a  new 
rebellion.  And  therefore  I  would  have  you  move  the  Coun- 
cil that  they  be  secured  in  some  very  safe  place,  and  the 
farther  out  of  their  own  countries  the  better. 
"  1  commend  you  to  the  Lord  ;  and  rest 

"  Your  afiiectionate  father, 

"  Oliver  P."* 

Cromwell  was  familiar  with  this  beautifid  passage  of  Scrip- 
ture :  If  thine  enemy  hunger,  feed  him  ;  if  he  thirst,  give  him 
drink  ;  for  in  so  doing  thou  shalt  heap  coals  of  fire  on  his  head. 
Be  not  overcome  of  evil,  but  overcome  evil  with  good.  What 
are  his  directions  to  his  son  for  that  unhappy  Ireland,  where 
the  most  obstinate  enemies  of  the  commonwealth  still  existed  ? 
Patience,  moderation,  and  love,  even  towards  those  who  en- 
tertain the  contrary  sentiments  against  him.  Such  is  the 
law  he  imposes  on  his  representative.  No  hatred,  no  re- 
venge !  On  the  contrary,  let  him  strive  to  win  their  hearts. 
Since  the  time  when  Christianity  first  Announced  these  great 
principles  to  the  world,  the  goxernments  of  the  earth  have 
rarely  been  found  to  put  them  in  practice,  as  the  Protector 
did. 

We  are  far,  however,  from  approving  indiscriminately  that 
kind  of  religion  which  became  dominant  in  England.  There 
was  an  evil  universally  felt,  and  which  we  must  point  out 
once  for  all : — religion  was  too  closely  allied  with  politics. 

We  do  not  sympathize  either  with  what  was  then  the  re- 
ligion of  the  state,  or  with  what  might  be  called  the  reUgion 
*  Thurloe,  i.  736.    Carlyle,  iii.  165. 


ORGANIZATION    OF    CHURCH    AND    STATE.  181 

of  the  people.  Both  forms  were  tainted  with  the  same  dis- 
ease, although  in  contrary  directions. 

Episcopalian  or  official  Protestantism  wsis  closely  united 
with  the  political  principle  of  the  absolute  power  of  the 
crown.  There  was  a  compact  and  a  bond  of  obligation  be- 
tween arbitraiy  monarch}'  and  Laud's  episcopacy. 

From  this  evil  there  arose  an  analogous  one  in  the  inde- 
pendent and  popular  form  of  Christianity.  We  find  it  allied 
with  the  parliamentary  power  and  with  what  may  be  called 
the  liberty-party.  Politics  were  confounded  with  religion. 
The  major-generals,  as  we  have  seen,  were  a  sort  of  bishops. 

Tliese  worldly  alliances  exercised  a  prejudicial  influence 
over  the  two  forms  of  Protestantism  in  England.  Whenever 
a  system  of  religion  subjects  itself  to  a  political  system,  it 
forfeits  its  exalted  aims,  its  liberty,  and  its  vitality ;  its  real 
shape  is  lost,  and  it  becomes  embarrassed  and  enslaved. 

Vital  Christianity  did  not  expand  in  the  establishment,  as 
might  have  been  expected  from  a  church  which  had  had  its 
Latimers  and  its  Ridleys ;  and  the  worship  of  the  state  was 
attached,  on  the  contrary,  to  forms  and  ceremonies  which 
assimilated  it  in  some  degree  with  royalty. 

A  similar  evil,  though  in  appearance  very  opposite  to  it, 
existed  in  the  independent  form  of  Christianity.  That  free 
expansion,  which  should  always  characterize  the  Gospel,  was 
checked  ;  and  in  its  stead  there  was  a  form,  truthful  indeed 
and  respectable,  but  in  which  a  Judaic  and  legal  spirit,  a 
puritan  formality,  a  certain  biblical  afl'ectation  in  the  language 
md  in  all  outward  matters,  were  too  predominant.  This 
imperfection  has  been  exaggerated  by  worldly  writers  :  even 
real  piety  has  not  escaped  the  shafts  of  their  ridicide.  A 
great  number  of  those  who  bore  this  factitious  coloring,  and 
Oliver  Cromwell  in  particular,  were  sincere  and  earnest 
Christians.  But  this  tinge  obscured  the  beauty  of  their  holi- 
ness. We  may  go  farther :  imder  the  conventional  dress, 
assumed  by  the  Christians  of  the  17th  century,  unregenemte 

16 


182  ORGANIZATION    OF    CHURCH    AND    STATB. 

minds  often  concealed  their  wickedness,  and  performed  the 
works  of  iniquity. 

The  evil  which  we  have  pointed  out  was  a  spot  upon  a 
noble  vesture.  Unreflecting  writers,  taking  oflFence  at  it,  have 
desired  to  throw  aside  the  garment.  For  our  own  part,  we 
should  wish  to  remove  the  stain,  but  not  on  its  accoimt  un- 
dervalue the  white  robe  which  it  disfigures. 

In  the  great  struggle  which  took  place  between  England 
and  the  Stuarts,  two  things  characterize  the  popular  party. 

On  the  one  hand,  there  was  a  great  principle  of  liberty 
and  christian  truth,  for  the  triumph  of  which  the  people  con- 
tended :  this  deserves  our  admiration. 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  rust  may  defile  the  brightest 
weapon.  Christianity,  becoming  subservient  to  a  political 
idea,  contracted,  as  we  have  seen,  a  certain  narrowness  and 
mannerism. 

These  two  elements, — 'the  good  and  the  bad, — bore  their 
respective  fruits. 

The  good  produced  that  ci\il  and  religious  liberty,  those 
political  and  christian  institutions,  Avhich  are  the  glory  of 
England,  and  which,  in  our  days,  are  called  to  a  still  nobler 
expansion. 

The  evil  element,  the  rust  on  the  sword,  a  narrow  and 
legal  formalism,  brought  on  by  reaction  a  contrary  evil ; 
namely,  a  lifeless  latitudinarianism,  an  exaggerated  liberal- 
ism in  religion,  and  a  deplorable  relaxation  of  morals. 

The  human  mind,  equally  disgusted  at  excessive  puritan- 
ism  and  official  Christianity,  recoiling  from  the  struggles  of 
parties,  and  desiring  neither  the  ser\'ile  forms  of  the  state 
religion,  nor  the  fanaticism  of  the  sectaries,  sought  anothei 
atmosphere  in  which  it  could  breathe  more  freely.  The 
free-thinkers  gave  way  to  incredulity,  which,  although 
serious  in  England,  terminated  in  France  in  a  lamentabk 
materialism. 

Fortunately  the  consequences  of  this  evil  were  but  transi- 
tory, while  the  results  of  the  good  principle  were  permanent 


ORGANIZATION    OF    CHURCH    AND   8TATB.  183 

In  describing  the  Christianity  of  England  during  the  Rev- 
olution, and  in  defending  it  against  unjust  reproaches,  we  do 
not  offer  it  to  our  own  times  as  an  irreproachable  model.  The 
present  age  should  profit  by  the  salutary  lessons  bequeathed 
to  it  by  the  past.  We  require  a  better  Christianity, — one 
more  free,  more  evangelical,  more  extensive,  more  spiritual, 
more  enlightened,  more  moral,  and  more  emancipated  from 
every  political  bias. 
.    May  God  grant  it  to  us  I 


CHAPTER    X 


RELIGIOUS    LIBERTY. 

Milton  to  Cromwell — Cromwell's  Part  with  regard  to  Religious  Liberty 
— Opposition  to  Radicalism,  Political  and  Religious — Established  Re- 
ligion and  Liberty — Milton,  a  Champion  of  the  Separation  of  Church 
and  State — Cromwell's  System  of  Religious  Liberty — The  Two  Great 
Interests — The  Protector's  Catholicity — George  Fox  and  Cromwell — 
Nayler — Cromwell  and  the  Episcopalians — Roman  Catholics  and 
Jews — State  and  Protestantism  Identical — Principia  Vita: — A  Dan- 
ger— True  Means  of  Difi'using  Christianity — Ely  Cathedral — State 
and  Church  :  Church  and  People. 

Cromwell's  exertions  were  not  confined  to  civil  liberty  only  : 
he  was  an  instrument  in  the  hand  of  God  to  introduce  a  new 

principle  into  the  world, one  till  then  entirely  unknown 

and   overlooked.      It  was  with  reference  to  this,  that  the 
great  bard  of  England  composed  the  following  lines : — 

TO  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

Cromwell,  our  chief  of  men,  who  through  a  cloud 
Not  of  war  only,  but  distractions  rude, 
Guided  by  faith  and  matchless  fortitude, 
To  peace  and  truth  thy  glorious  way  hast  plough'd. 

And  on  the  neck  of  crowned  fortune  proud 

Hast  rear'd  God's  trophies,  and  his  work  pursued. 
While  Darwen  stream  with  blood  of  Scots  imbrued, 
And  Dunbar  field  resound  thy  praises  loud, 

And  Worcester's  laureate  wreath.     Yet  much  remains 
To  conquer  still ;  peace  hath  her  victories 
No  less  renown'd  than  war:  new  foes  arise 

-Threatening  to  bind  our  souls  with  secular  chains  ; 
Help  us  to  save  free  conscience  from  the  paw 
Of  hireling  wolves,  whose  Gospel  is  their  maw. 


KEUOIOLS    LIBERTY.  185 

The  Protector  needed  not  this  appeal.  Without  doubt 
the  question  of  religious  liberty  did  not  present  itself  to  him 
as  it  does  to  our  contemporaries.  It  is  now  something  more 
positive  and  abstract.  The  love  of  truth,  most  assuredly, 
burnt  no  less  brightly  in  his  heart  than  the  love  of  liberty  ; 
and  yet  he  could  respect  convictions  which  diflered  from  hia 
own.  At  that  period  these  principles  were  very  necessary. 
The  parliamentanans,  bigoted  successors  of  the  hierarchists, 
had  called  for  the  suppression  of  that  "  new  heresy"  entitled 
"  liberty  of  conscience,"  and  had  labored  earnestly  to  this 
end.     Oliver  did  the  very  contrary'. 

The  Protector's  ruling  passion  was  religious  liberty,  and 
its  establishment  was  his  work.  Among  all  the  men  of  past 
ages,  and  even  of  the.  times  present,  there  is  not  one  who 
has  done  so  much  as  he  in  this  cause.  It  has  almost  tri- 
umphed in  every  Protestant  nation  ;  its  great  victory  is  yet 
to  come  among  those  which  profess  the  Romish  creed  :  and 
under  God,  it  is  to  Cromwell  in  particular  that  men's  con- 
sciences are  beholden. 

It  frequently  happens  that  those  who  advocate  liberty 
when  they  are  in  opposition,  no  sooner  attain  power  than 
they  employ  it  to  oppress  the  freedom  of  others.  It  was 
not  thus  that  Oliver  acted.  Not  seldom  also,  when  the  cause 
of  liberty  is  triumphant,  its  partisans  carry  it  to  excess,  and 
indulge  in  senseless  theories  of  equality  and  socialism.  He 
steered  cautiously  between  these  two  shoals.  His  speeches 
contain  sentiments  of  admirable  wisdom  on  the  extreme  dis- 
order of  men's  minds,  as  well  in  temporal  as  in  spiritual 
things.  No  one  could  express  himself  more  forcibly  than  he 
did  against  the  principles  of  the  radicals  and  levellers,  who 
aimed  at  destroying  all  moral  and  social  distinctions.  He 
was  aware  that  men  might  as  well  look  for  ships  without 
frames,  bodies  without  bones,  mountains  without  rocks,  as  for 
.1  nation  without  autiiority  and  obedience. 

"  What  was  the  face  that  was  upon  our  aftairs  a.s  to  the 
interest  of  the  nation  ?"  asked  Cromwell  in  his  second  speech 
16* 


186  RELIGIOUS    LIBERTY. 

to  parliament.*  "  As  to  the  authority  in  the  nation  ;  to  the 
magistracy ;  to  the  ranks  and  orders  of  men,  whereby  Eng- 
land hath  been  known  for  hundreds  of  years  ? — A  nobleman, 

a  gentleman,  a  yeoman the  distinction  of  these,  that  is 

a  good  interest  of  the  nation  and  a  great  one  !  The  natural 
magistracy  of  the  nation,  was  it  not  almost  trampled  under 
foot,  under  despite  and  contempt,  by  men  of  levelling  prin- 
ciples ?  I  beseech  you,  for  the  orders  of  men  and  ranks  of 
men,  did  not  that  levelling  principle  tend  to  the  reducing  of 
all  to  an  equality  ?" 

He  also  complains  of  a  similar  tendency  in  spiritual  mat- 
ters, and  contrasts  it  with  the  former  evil, — the  evU  of  pre- 
lacy and  popery.  He  continues  :  "  The  former  extremity 
we  suftered  under  was,  that  no  man,  though  he  had  never  so 
good  a  testimony,  though  he  had  received  gifts  from  Christ, 
might  preach,  unless  ordained.  So  now  I  think  we  are  at 
the  other  extremity,  when  many  affirm.  That  he  who  is  or- 
dained hath  a  nullity  stamped  thereby  upon  his  calling  ;  so 
that  he  ought  not  to  preach,  or  not  be  heard." 

The  prudent  finnness  with  which  Oliver  combated  these 
extremes  at  a  time  when  they  were  so  potent,  and  when  the 
true  principles  of  liberty  were  not  generally  acknowledged, 
deserves  our  highest  admiration.  Even  his  adversaries  have 
confessed  it.  Mr.  Southey,  although  a  zealous  Episcopalian, 
and  an  enemy  to  the  commonwealth,  and  who  regarded  the 
disastrous  restoration  of  Cliarles  H.  as  the  salvation  of  Eng- 
land, says  in  his  book  of  the  Church  : — "  Cromwell  relieved 
the  country  from  Presbyterian  intolerance ;  and  he  curbed 
those  fanatics  who  were  for  proclaiming  King  Jesus,  that,  as 
his  Saints,  they  might  divide  the  land  amongst  themselves. 
But  it  required  all  his  strength  to  do  this,  and  to  keep  down 
the  spirit  of  religious  and  political  fanaticism."! 

Perhaps  his  zeal  was  the  more  remarkable,  asit  did  not 
reach  the  point  to  which  many  of  his  friends  had  arrived, — 

*  Pari.  Hist.  xx.  318.     Carlyle,  iii.  26,  30. 
t  Southey,  Book  of  the  Church,  508.     London,  1837. 


RELIGIOUS    LIBERTT. 


181 


the  separation,  namely,  of  Church  and  State.  In  his  third 
speech,  even  when  professing  the  doctrine  of  an  established 
state-religion,  he  boldly  claims  liberty  of  conscience  for  all.* 
"  So  long  as  there  is  liberty  of  conscience  for  the  supreme 
magistrate  to  exercise  his  conscience  in  erecting  what  form 
of  church  government  he  is  satisfied  he  should  set  up,  why," 
asks  Oliver,  "  should  he  not  give  the  like  liberty  to  others  ? 
Liberty  of  conscience  is  a  natural  right  ;  and  he  that  would 
have  it,  ought  to  give  it.  Indeed  that  hath  been  one  of  the 
vanities  of  our  contest.  Every  sect  saith  :  '  O,  give  me  hb- 
erty  !'     But  give  it  him  and  to  his  power — he  will  not  yield 

it  to  anybody  else  ! Where  is  our  ingenuousness  ? 

Liberty  of  conscience  is  a  thing  that  ought  to  be  very  recip- 
rocal. I  may  say  it  to  you,  I  can  say  it :  All  the  money  of 
this  nation  would  not  have  tempted  men  lo  fight  upon  such 
an  account  as  they  have  here  been  engaged  in,  if  they  had 
not  had  hopes  of  liberty  of  conscience  better  than  Episco- 
pacy granted  them,  or  than  would  have  been  afforded  by  a 
Scots  Presbyter)',  or  an  English  either.  This,  I  say,  b  a 
fundamental.  It  ought  to  be  so.  It  is  for  us  and  the  gen- 
erations to  come.  And  if  there  be  an  absoluteness  in  the  im- 
poser,  without  fitting  allowances  and  exceptions  from  the  rule, 
— we  shall  have  the  people  driven  into  wildernesses.  As 
they  were,  when  those  poor  and  afflicted  people,  who  for- 
sook their  estates  and  inheritances  here,  where  they  lived 
plentifully  and  comfortably,  were  necessitated,  for  enjoyment 
of  their  liberty,  to  go  into  a  waste  howling  wilderness  in 
New  England  ;  where  they  have,  for  liberty's  sake,  stript 
themselves  of  all  their  comfort ;  embracing  rather  loss  of 
friends  and  want,  than  be  so  ensnared  and  in  bondage  I" 
Why  did  Cromwell,  when  he  stood  forth  as  the  champion 
1  religious  liberty,  mtiintain  the  principle  of  a  special  Church 
■ -tablished  by  the  State?  It  has  been  supposed  that  he 
was  guided  by  political  considerations,  being  unwilling  to 
strip  the  public  authority  of  every  sort  of  direction  in  re- 
•  Pari.  Hi§t.  xx.  349.    Carlyle,  iii.  68. 


} 


188  RELIGIOUS   LIBERTT. 


ligious  matters,  which  exert  so  great  an  influence  over  the 
people.  In  the  speech  we  have  just  quoted,  he  assigns  an- 
other reason  : — "  The  supreme  magistrate  should  exercise  his 
conscience  in  erecting  what  form  of  church  government  he  is 
satisfied  should  be  set  up."  In  his  mind  probably  both 
these  motives  were  combined. 

The  doctrine  of  the  complete  separation  of  Church  and 
State  found  other  not  less  illustrious  defenders.  The  Pro- 
tector's secretary,  the  great  poet  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
was  its  resolute  champion.  Milton  thought  that  the  state 
ought  not  to  interfere  in  the  interests  of  religion.  In  his 
treatise  on  Christian  Doctrine,  first  published  by  the  Rev. 
C.  R.  Sumner,  now  Bishop  of  Winchester,  he  says  : — "  It  is 
highly  derog.atory  to  the  power  of  the  Church,  as  well  as  an 
utter  want  of  faith,  to  suppose  that  her  government  cannot 
be  properly  administered  without  the  intervention  of  the 
civil  magistrate."*  The  bard  of  Paradise  Lost  explained 
his  views  more  particularly  in  his  Treatise  of  Civil  Power  in 
Ecclesiastical  Causes,  and  in  his  considerations  on  The  like- 
liest Means  to  remove  Hirelinr/s  out  of  the  Church.  In  his 
opinion,  this  thesis  is  incontrovertibly  established  by  four  ar- 
guments. The  first  is,  that  every  individual  has  an  exclusive 
right  in  determining  the  choice  of  his  own  convictions ;  the 
second  reposes  on  the  wholly  spiritual  nature  of  the  Gospel ; 
the  third  is  derived  from  the  consequences  which  christian 
liberty  brings  with  it ;  and  the  fourth,  from  the  uselessness 
or  the  danger  of  the  influence  of  the  civil  power  in  ecclesi- 
astical matters,  even  when  that  action  is  protective. 

Milton  was  not  satisfied  Avith  writing  treatises ;  he  de- 
manded of  the  powerful  Protector  the  complete  indepen- 
dence of  the  Church.  "  If  you  leave  the  Church  to  the 
Church,  and  thus  judiciously  disburthen  yourself  and  the 
civil  magistracy  in  general  of  a  concern  forming  half  their 

*  Derogant  ita  multum  potestati  Ecclesiae  atque  diffident,  &c.  J.  Mil- 
toni  de  Doctrina  Christiana  libri  duo  pnsthuvd,  edidit  Carolus  Ricardus 
Sumner,  p.  371. 


RELIGIOrs    LIBERTY.  189 

incumbrance,  and  wholly  incongruous  with  their  appropriate 
functions  ;  not  permitting  the  two  heterogeneous  authorities 
of  Church  and  State  to  continue  their  intrigues  (with  an  ap- 
parent, though  deceitful,  reciprocity  of  support,  but  to  the 
actual  enfeebling  and  eventual  subversion  of  both) ;  not  al- 
lowing any  constraint  upon  conscience — which,  however, 
will  necessarily  continue  as  long  as  gold,  the  poison  of  the 
Church,  and  the  very  quinzy  of  truth,  shall  continue  to  be 
extorted  from  the  laity  to  pay  the  wages  of  the  clergy — you 
will  cast  down  the  raoney-changei-s,  and  hucksters  not  of 
doves,  but  of  the  Dove  itself ;  I  mean  the  Holy  Spirit  of 
God."* 

Such  was  Milton's  language;  but  he  could  not  induce 
Cromwell  to  act  upon  the  ideas  of  which  he  was  the  repre- 
sentative.! 

Yet,  if  the  Protector  did  not  accept  the  system  of  Church 
and  State  separation,  he  continually  showed  the  greatest 
zeal  and  perseverance  in  favor  of  religious  liberty.  When 
we  think  of  the  times  in  which  he  proclaimed  these  princi- 
ples— principles  so  long  unrecognized — we  cannot  forbear  a 
sentiment  of  admiration.  In  his  fifth  recorded  speech,  de- 
livered on  the  17th  of  September,  1656,  In;  txnrusscd  his 
opinions  in  the  following  words  : — 

"  1  will  tell  you  the  tnith :  Our  practice  since  liie  last 
Parliament  hath  been.  To  let  all  this  nation  see  that  what- 
ever pretensions  to  religion  would  continue  {juiet,  peaceable, 
they  should  enjoy  conscience  and  liberty  to  themselves  ;  and 
not  to  make  religion  a  pretence  for  arms  and  blood.  All 
that  tends  to  combination,  to  interests  and  factions,  we  shall 

•  Pecunia  Elcclesis;  toxicum,  veritntia  anjrinti,  enuntiandi  Evnngelii 
merces. .  .ejeceria  ex  Ecclesia  nummuliirios  illos,  non  columhns  sed  Co- 
lumbam,  Sanctum  ipsum  Spiritum,  cauponanles.  Milton,  Dcfensio  Se- 
cunda,  p.  117. 

f  Milton's  system  has  been  expounded  by  M.  Albert  Rilliet  of  Geneva, 
in  his  articles  in  the  Snneur  (Paris)  entitled  Vn  Itulividualiste  OiiiliS, 
published  in  the  numbers  of  that  distinguished  Christian  journal  of  the 
18lh  nnd  25th  of  February,  and  the  18th  of  March,  1847. 


190  RELIGIOUS   LIBKRTT. 

not  care,  by  the  grace  of  God,  whom  we  meet  -withal, 
though  never  so  specious,  if  they  be  not  quiet !  And  truly 
I  am  against  all  liberty  of  conscience  repugnant  to  this.  If 
men  will  profess — be  they  those  under  baptism,  be  they 
those  of  the  independent  judgment  simply,  or  of  the  presby- 
terian  judgment — in  the  name  of  God,  encourage  them ;  so 
long  as  they  do  plainly  continue  to  be  thankful  to  God,  and 
to  make  use  of  the  liberty  given  them  to  enjoy  their  own 
consciences  !  For,  as  it  was  said  to-day  (in  Dr.  OAven's  ser- 
mon before  Parliament),  undoubtedly  '  this  is  the  peculiar 
interest  all  this  while  contended  for.' 

"  Men  who  believe  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  walk  in  a  profes- 
sion answerable  to  that  Faith ;  men  who  believe  in  the  re- 
mission of  sins  through  the  blood  of  Christ,  and  free  justi- 
fication by  the  blood  of  Christ ;  who  hve  upon  the  grace  of 
God,  are  members  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  are  to  Him  the  ap- 
ple of  his  eye.  Whoever  hath  this  faith,  let  his  form  be 
what  it  will ;  he  walking  peaceably  without  prejudice  to 
others  under  other  forms  : — it  is  a  debt  due  to  God  and 
Christ ;  and  He  will  require  it,  if  that  Christian  may  not  en- 
joy his  liberty. 

"  If  a  man  of  one  form  will  be  trampling  upon  the  heels 
of  another  form ;  if  an  independent,  for  example,  will  de- 
spise him  who  is  under  baptism,  and  will  revile  him,  and  re- 
proach him,  and  provoke  him,  I  will  not  suffer  it  in  him 

God  give  us  hearts  and  spirits  to  keep  things  equal.  Which, 
truly  I  must  profess  to  you,  hath  been  my  temper.  I  have 
had  some  boxes  on  the  ear,  and  rebukes,  on  the  one  hand 
and  on  the  other.  I  have  borne  my  reproach :  but  I  have, 
through  God's  mercy,  not  been  unhappy  in  hindering  any 
one  religion  to  impose  upon  another."* 

Oliver  felt  a  just  pride,  as  he  thought  of  these  great  prin- 
ciples of  liberty,  which  he  had  (so  to  speak)  created  among 
his  nation ;  and  he  boldly  declared  that  he  had  received  this 

♦  Burton's  Diary,  i.  clviii.  Introd.     Carlyle,  lii.  220-223. 


liELlGIOLS    MBEKTT.  191 

task  from  God  himself,  and  that  to  llim  he  would  give  an 
account.     To  this  effect  he  spoke  on  the  3d  of  April,  1657. 

"  Mv  Lords, 

" You  have  been  zealous  of  the  two  greatest  con- 
cernments that  God  hath  in  the  world.  The  one  is  that  of 
Religion,  and  of  the  just  preservation  of  the  professors  of 
it ;  to  give  them  all  due  and  just  liberty ;  and  to  assert  the 
truth  of  God.  And  I  pray  it  may  not  fall  upon  the  people 
of  God  as  a  fault  in  them,  in  any  sort  of  them,  if  they  do 
not  put  such  a  value  upon  this  that  is  now  done  as  never 
Avas  put  on  anything  since  Christ's  time,  for  such  a  catholic 
interest  of  the  people  of  God  ! 

"  The  other  thing  cared  for  is,  the  Civil  Liberty  and  Interest 
of  the  Nation.  Which,  though  it  is,  and  indeed  I  think 
ought  to  be,  subordinate  to  the  more  peculiar  interest  of 
God,  yet  it  is  the  next  best  God  hath  given  men  in  tliis  world  ; 
and  if  well  cared  for,  it  is  better  than  any  rock  to  fence  men 
in  their  other  interests.  Besides,  if  any  whosoever  think 
the  interest  of  Christians  and  the  interest  of  the  nation  in- 
consistent, or  two  different  things,  I  wish  my  soul  may  never 

enter  into  tfieir  secrets  ! Upon  these  two  interests,  if 

God  shall  account  me  worthy,  I  shall  live  and  die.  And  I 
must  say,  If  I  were  to  give  an  account  before  a  greater  tri- 
bunal than  any  earthly  one,  I  could  give  no  answer  that  were 
not  a  wicked  one,  if  it  did  not  comprehend  these  two  ends."* 

The  Protector  realized  in  his  life  that  wide  catholicity 
which  he  expressed  in  his  public  speeches.  He  was  a  Pro- 
testant Christian ;  but  did  not  join  himself  to  any  party. 
Although  an  independent  by  principle,  he  thought  that  all 
the  reformed  churches  were  part  of  the  Catholic  Ciuirch, 
and  he  looked  with  equal  favor  upon  Independents,  Prcsby- 
terijins,  and  Baptists :  his  chaplains  belonged  to  these  several 
denominations.  In  this  sincere  catholicity,  he  was  so  far  in 
advance  of  liis  age,  that  it  has  culled  forth  a  singular  remark 
•  Pari.  Hist,  xxiii.  161.    Carlyle.iii.  373,  274. 


192  RELIGIOUS    LIBERTY. 

from  M.  Villemain  :  "  Cromwell's  neutrality  for  forms  of 
"worship,  compared  with  the  fervor  which  he  always  affected, 
would  of  itself  be  enough  to  convict  him  of  hypocrisy.  In 
that  fanatical  age,  faith  was  never  distinct  from  intolerance, 
and  if  Cromwell  had  been  sincere,  he  would  have  chosen 
the  sect  he  preferred  to  follow."*  In  this  manner  has 
Oliver  been  judged  !  Even  his  virtues  have  been  distorted 
to  prove  that  he  was  vicious.  Where  can  we  find  a  man 
whose  character  might  not  similarly  be  perverted  by  so 
odious  a  method  ?  It  is  not  easy  to  show  greater  ignorance 
of  the  power  and  spirit  of  the  Gospel,  than  this  eloquent 
biographer  has  done  in  these  few  lines. 

The  Protector  excluded  no  Christians  from  his  fraternal 
sentiments,  however  much  they  might  vary  from  the  forms 
to  which  he  was  attached.  Towards  the  quakers  in  particu- 
lar he  showed  great  charity. 

George  Fox,  who,  while  tending  his  master's  sheep,  had 
indulged  in  religious  meditations,  and  had  deduced  the  cor- 
ruption of  the  Church  from  its  forgetfulness  of  the  inward 
for  the  outward  light,  had  then  begun  his  mission.  He  had 
heard  a  voice  within  him  calling  him,  as  he  thought,  to 
preach  repentance  ;  and,  docile  to  this  spiritual  admonition, 
he  exhorted  all  men  to  listen  to  that  internal  revelation, 
which  was  in  his  opinion  the  source  of  life.  In  this  there 
was  much  with  which  Cromwell  sympathized. 

But  Fox's  preaching  agitated  the  people,  and  in  several 
instances  divine  w^orship  was  disturbed.  The  quaker  was 
seized  and  thrown  into  prison,  and  dragged  from  jail  to  jail 
by  the  inferior  officers  of  justice,  or  else  frequently  com- 
pelled to  sleep  in  some  cave,  or  in  the  open  air. 

In  the  midst  of  these  persecutions  he  found  means  to  write 
to  the  Protector  and  ask  for  an  interview.  This  was  grant- 
ed ;  and  one  morning,  while  Oliver  was  dressing,  the  quaker 
was  introduced.  " '  Peace  be  in  this  house,'  said  he. 
'  Thank  you,  George,'  was  Cromwell's  mild  reply.  '  I  am 
*  Villemain,  Cromwell,  ii.  200. 


RELIGIOUS    LIBERTY.  108 

come,'  resumed  the  other,  '  to  exhort  thee  to  keep  in  the 
fear  of  God,  that  thou  mayst  receive  wisdom  from  Him,  and 
by  it  be  ordered,  and  with  it  mayst  order  all  things  under 
thy  hand  to  God's  glory.  Amen  !'  He  listened  to  me  very 
attentively  ;"  continues  Fox.*  "  I  had  much  fearless  dis- 
course with  him  about  God  and  his  apostles  of  old  time,  and 
of  his  ministers  of  new ;  about  death  and  the  unfathomable 
universe,  and  the  light  from  above ;  and  he  would  often  in- 
terrupt me  by  saying  :  '  That  is  very  good — That  is  true  !* 
and  he  carried  himself  with  much  moderation  towards  me. 
As  people  were  coming  in,  he  caught  me  by  the  hand,  and 
with  tears  in  his  eyes,  said  :  '  Come  again  to  my  house,  for 
if  thou  and  I  were  but  an  hour  u-day  together,  we  should 
be  nearer  one  to  the  other  ;'  adding,  that  he  wished  me  no 
more  ill  than  he  did  to  his  own  soul. — '  Hearken  then  to 
God's  voice,'  said  I,  as  I  was  going.  Captain  Drury  begged 
me  to  stay  and  dine  with  Oliver's  gentlemen ;  but  I  de- 
clined, God  not  permitting."!  ^Vith  such  mildness,  with 
such  a  mixture  of  piety,  sympathy,  and  respect  did  the  ruler 
of  England  treat  those  sects  to  which  he  did  not  belong. 

Many  of  the  Friends  at  that  time  indulged  in  great  ex- 
cesses. Nayler  in  particular,  who  was  called  by  his  par- 
tisans The  EverhiHting  Sun  of  Righteousness,  the  Prince  of 
Peace,  the  Only-begotten  Son  of  Ood,  and  to  whom  his  dis- 
ciples paid  divine  honors,  crying  before  him  :  "  Holy,  holy, 
holy  is  the  Lord  God  of  Hosts,"  is  a  striking  e.xample. 
When  parliament,  after  several  sittings,  had  condemned  the 
fanatical  quaker,  who  at  Bristol  had  parodied  Christ's  entry 
into  Jerusalem,  Cromwell  felt  a  desire  to  interfere.  He  was 
doubtful,  as  it  would  appear,  of  the  justice  of  the  sentence 
passed  upon  him,  and  would  have  saved  him.  With  thia 
\  lew  ho  sent  the  following  message  to  parliament : — 

•  Fox's  Journal,  i.  265.     Leetl»,  1836. 
f-  Ibid.     Carlyle,  iii.  149. 
17 


■QnMi«^pn«p> 


194  RSLIOIOUa    LIBERTY. 


"  To  our   Right    Trusty  and    Right     Well-beloved   Sir 

Thomas  Widdrington,  Speaker  of  the  Parliament : 

To  he  communicated  to  the  Parliament. 

"O.  P. 

"Right  Trusty  and  "Well-beloved,  We  greet  you  well. 
Having  taken  notice  of  a  judgment  lately  given  by  your- 
selves against  one  James  Nayler :  although  We  detest  and 
abhor  the  giving  or  occasioning  the  least  countenance  to  per- 
sons of  such  opinions  and  practices,  or  who  are  under  the 
guilt  of  the  crimes  commonly  imputed  to  the  said  person : 
yet  We,  being  intrusted  in  the  present  government,  on  be- 
half of  the  people  of  these  nations,  and  not  knowing,  how 
far  such  proceeding,  entered  into  wholly  without  Us,  may 
extend  in  the  consequences  of  it, — do  desire  that  the  House 
would  let  Us  know  the  grounds  and  reasons  whereupon  they 
have  proceeded, 

"  Given  at  Whitehall,  the  2oth  of  December,  1656."* 

It  does  not,  however,  appear  that  Nayler  was  pardoned. 
He  was  looked  upon  as  a  blasphemer,  and  liberty  had  not 
yet  gone  so  far  as  to  believe  that  such  a  person  should  pass 
unpunished.  It  would  have  been  wiser  to  have  treated  him 
as  a  madman. 

Episcopalians  were  not  excluded  from  the  Protector's 
catholicity.  He  showed  them  respect  and  aflFection,  although 
the  decided  royalism  of  most  of  them  compelled  him  to 
maintain  a  certain  reserve.  Dr.  George  Bates,  an  eminent 
royalist  and  a  great  opponent  of  Cromwell,  writes,  "  That 
the  Protector  indulged  the  use  of  the  common  prayer  in  fam- 
ilies and  in  private  conventicles ;  and  though  the  condition 
of  the  Church  of  England  was  but  melancholy,  yet  it  can- 
not be  denied,  they  had  a  great  deal  more  favor  and  in- 
dulgence than  under  the  Parliament ;    which  would  never 

•  Burton,  i.  370.     Carlyle,  iii.'265. 


RKLIGIOCS    LIBERTY-.  196 

have  been  interrupted,  had  they  not  insulted  the  Protector, 
and  forfeited  their  Uberty  by  their  seditious  practices,  and 
plottings  against  his  person  and  government."* 

The  behavior  of  the  royalists,  who  threatened  Cromwell 
with  death,  and  were  actually  in  arms  against  him,  having 
led  to  the  publication  of  an  order  on  the  24th  of  November, 
1055,  which  still  further  restricted  the  Episcopalian  clergy, 
the  Protector,  at  the  solicitation  of  Dr.  Gauden  and  Arch- 
bishop Usher,  promised  to  recall  his  declaration,  "  provided 
the  clergy  would  not  meddle  with  matters  of  state."  But 
when  he  laid  the  affair  before  his  council,  the  latter  were  of 
opinion  that  by  so  doing  he  woiild  encoiu^ge  the  enemies  of 
his  government,  and  they  would  only  consent  to  suspend 
its  execution,  so  far  as  the  behavior  of  the  clergy  should 
deserve. 

Cromwell  in  fact  allowed  the  Episcopalian  ministers,  who 
were  moderate  in  their  political  sentiments,  to  preach  pub- 
licly in  the  churches  at  London  and  in  the  country.  Among 
these  were  Dr.  Pearson,  bishop  of  Chester,  and  Dr.  Hall,  his 
successor  in  that  see,  Avith  the  Drs.  Ball,  Wild,  Hardy,  and 
Griffith.  "  It  is  certain,"  says  Bishop  Kennet,  "  that  the 
Protector  was  for  liberty,  and  the  utmost  latitude  to  all  par- 
ties, so  far  as  consisted  with  the  peace  and  safety  of  his  per- 
son and  government ;  and  even  the  prejudice  he  had  against 
the  Episcopal  party  was  more  for  their  being  royalists,  than 
for  being  of  the  good  old  church. "f  And  Mr  Southey  even 
^oes  so  far  as  to  assert  that  "  he  woidd  gladlj'  have  restored 
the  Episcopal  church  in  England.";};  Nay,  Oliver  went  far- 
ther than  this  :  he  was  opposed  to  the  Roman-catholics,  not 
un  account  of  their  religion,  but  because  they  were  enemies 
to  the  government  and  to  the  country.  It  was  the  Jesuits 
rather  than  the  Catholics  whom  he  restricted.  The  motives 
of  his  conduct  are  thus  set  forth  in  a  declaration  of  the  3l8t 
of  October,  1655: — "  It  was  not  only  commonly  observed, 

•  Nciilc,  ii.  02-I.  t  Ncale,  ii.  651. 

t  Book  of  the  Church,  509. 


196  RELIGIOUS    LIBERTY. 

but  there  remains  with  us  somewhat  of  proof,  that  Jesuits 
have  been  found  among  discontented  parties  of  this  nation, 
who  are  observed  to  quarrel  and  fall  out  with  every  form  of 
administration  in  church  and  state."* 

Even  in  regard  to  Roman-catholicism,  the  Protector  then 
professed  more  liberal  opinions  than  are  perhaps  entertained 
by  many  religious  men  and  politicians  of  the  present  day. 
This  will  appear  from  the  following  letter  : — 

"  To  Ms  Eminency  Cardinal  Mazarin. 

"  Whitehall,  2Gth  December,  1656. 

"  The  obligations,  and  many  instances  of  affection,  which 
I  have  received  from  your  Eminency,  do  engage  me  to  make 
returns  suitable  to  your  merits.  But  although  I  have  this 
set  home  upon  my  spirit,  I  may  not  (shall  I  tell  you,  I  can- 
not ?)  at  this  juncture  of  time,  and  as  the  face  of  my  afiairs 
now  stands,  answer  to  your  call  for  toleration  [to  the  Catho- 
lics here]. 

"  I  say,  I  cannot,  as  to  a  public  declaration  of  my  sense 
in  that  point ;  although  I  believe  that  under  my  government 
your  Eminency,  in  the  behalf  of  CathoHcs,  has  less  reason 
for  complaint  as  to  rigor  upon  men's  consciences  than  under 
the  Parliament.  For  I  have  of  some,  and  those  very  many, 
had  compassion ;  making  a  difference.  Truly  I  have  (and 
I  may  speak  it  with  cheerfulness  in  the  presence  of  God, 
who  is  a  witness  within  me  to  the  truth  of  what  I  affirm) 
made  a  difference  ;  and,  as  Jude  speaks,  plucked  many  out 
of  the  fire, — the  raging  fire  of  persecution,  which  did  tyran- 
nize over  their  consciences,  and  encroached  by  an  arbitrari- 
ness of  power  upon  their  estates.  And  herein  it  is  my  pur- 
pose, as  soon  as  I  can  remove  impediments,  and  some  weights 
that  press  me  down,  to  make  a  further  progress,  and  dis- 
charge my  promise  to  your  Eminency  in  relation  to  that. , . . 

" I  will  conclude  with  giving  you  assurance  that  I 

*  Neale,  ii.  651. 


UELIOIOLS    l,IBEK>ry.  19t 

will  never  be  backward  in  demonstrating,  as  hi-fuTiifs  your 
brother  and  confederate,  that  I  ara 

"  Your  servant, 

"  Oliver  P."* 

Cromwell  would  have  desiz-ed  to  go  still  farther,  but  was 
prevented.  A  learned  Portuguese  Jew  of  Amsterdam, 
Manasseh  Ben  Israel,  had  been  residing  for  some  time  in 
Entrland,  whence  the  Jews  had  been  banished  four  hundred 
years  before,  and  had  in  vain  petitioned  both  the  Long  and 
the  Little  Parliament  that  they  should  be  permitted  to  settle 
in  that  country  again.  The  Protector  was  favorable  to  bis 
request,  and  on  the  12th  of  December  1655,  a  conference 
composed  of  divines,  lawyers,  and  merchants,  met  at  White- 
hall to  consult  upon  the  aflFair.  Cromwell  spoke  in  favor  of 
liberty,  and,  says  an  eye-witness,  "  I  never  heard  a  man 
speak  so  well." — "  Since  there  is  a  promise  in  Holy  Scrip- 
ture of  the  conversion  of  the  Jews,"  he  said,  "  I  do  not 
know,  but  the  preaching  of  €iie  Christian  religion,  as  it  is 
now  in  England,  without  idolatry  or  superstition,  may  not 
conduce  to  it."  The  majority  of  the  assembly  declared 
against  his  propositions.  Both  merchants  and  divines  were 
equally  opposed  to  them.  The  Jews  could  not  reside  in 
England  except  by  private  sufferance  of  the  Protcctor.f 

His  zeal  for  freedom  of  conscience  is  one  of  the  noblest 
pages  in  his  history,  and  in  the  history  of  every  age.  Where 
the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is  there  is  liherti/. 

This  religious  liberty  was  a  real  good.  Tiiere  was,  how- 
ever, an  evil ;  it  was  not  sufficiently  complete.  On  the  one 
iiand,  the  Episcopal  church  was  too  constrained  ;  on  the 
other,  the  Independent  church  was  too  much  favored.  Both 
were  injured  by  tliis  protection  and  this  restraint.  C'rom- 
well  did  not  entirely  escape  the  shoal  on  which  his  prede- 
cessors had  struck,  namely,  that  of  patronizing  his  OLon  party 

•  Thurloe,  v.  735.     Carlyle,  iii.  249. 

t  Harl.  Miiicel.  vii.  617. 

17* 


198  KELIGIOUS    LIUEHIY. 

too  much,  and  restricting  the  others.  He  did,  perhaps,  aR 
that  might  reasonably  have  been  expected  of  him.  He 
feared  that  if  Religion  were  left  entirely  to  herself,  she  would 
be  rent  in  pieces  and  annihilated,  as  it  were,  in  the  struggle 
of  sects  and  parties.  But  unrestricted  movement,  governed 
solely  by  the  Word  of  God,  is  necessary  to  the  prosperity 
of  religion. 

There  are  dangers  peculiar  to  a  national  church,  and  those 
who  love  such  an  establishment,  particularly  its  rulers,  should 
endeavor  to  find  them  out.  The  state-church  in  England 
did  not  escape  these  shoals  in  the  sixteenth  and  in  the  early 
part  of  the  seventeeth  century ;  and  hence  arose  essentially 
those  remarkable  deviations  to  which  it  yielded  under  Laud's 
direction.  The  patronage  of  the  political  power  may  be  no 
less  hurtful  to  a  church,  than  its  persecution.  For  this 
reason  the  liberty  and  independence  of  the  Church  should 
be,  in  our  opinion,  greater  than  they  were  under  Cromwell. 
The  remedy  which  he  applied  partially  failed  in  its  effect, 
because  it  was  tainted  with  the  disease  which  it  was  intended 
to  cure.     I  must  explain  myself. 

The  state  had  identified  itself  with  Protestantism.  The 
doctrine  of  the  Church,  the  xxxix  articles,  the  offspring  of 
a  free  and  lively  faith,  had  received  a  juridical  meaning  and 
a  political  existence.  These  articles,  first  drawn  up  in  the 
reign  of  Edward  VI.  by  Cranmer  and  Ridley,  and  revised 
by  the  synod  of  London  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth  (anno 
1562),  had  become,  by  statute  in  1571,  a  law  of  the  state 
and  part  of  the  English  constitution.  They  gave  laws  to  the 
political  as  well  as  to  the  religious  body. 

What  had  been  the  true  origin  of  Protestantism  ? — An 
act  of  Parliament  ? — No  !  It  was  to  a  spiritual  life,  a  moral 
force,  and  an  intellectual  power,  all  in  intimate  alliance  with 
each  other,  that  Protestantism  owed  its  birth.  These  three 
elements  were  the  springs  of  its  life.  In  order  that  it  should 
exist,  with  the  vitality  that  was  peculiar  to  it,  it  was  requi- 
site that  these  prindpia  vitm  should  be  maintained  in  their 


RELIGIOLS    LIUERIY.  19W 

pristine  activity.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  doctrines 
contained  in  the  thirty-nine  articles  were  a  glorious  fruit  of 
these  three  original  forces,  and  might  thus  concur,  to  a  cer- 
tain point,  in  preserving  them  in  full  vigor.  This  really 
happened  in  some  cases ;  not  always,  however ;  and  there 
was  frequently  a  contrar}'  result. 

In  fact  an  unexpected  danger  soon  made  its  appearance. 
It  seemed  that  the  Church  and  State  had  taken  possession 
of  the  truth  forever :  they  were  upon  sure  grounds.  Who 
could  take  away  from  the  congregation  of  the  children  of 
God  the  living  doctrines  of  salvation  ?  They  were  secured 
by. the  statute  of  1571!  In  the  name  of  the  State  the 
Church  was  in  possession  of  its  dogmfis,  its  forms,  its  organ- 
ization, and  all  that  was  necessary  to  the  development  of  its 
religious  life.  The  Act  of  Uniformity  of  1562  and  1563 
was  a  supererogatory  safeguard  to  them.  They  were  guar- 
anteed by  all  the  three  orders  of  the  government. 

But  sometimes,  by  too  great  earnestness  in  guarding  a 
treasure,  we  run  the  risk  of 'losing  it.  True  Protestantism 
had  not  been  formed  by  the  crown,  the  peers,  and  the  com- 
mons ;  but  by  the  struggles  of  the  fathers,  by  their  confes- 
sions, by  their  burning  stakes,  by  the  word  of  their  testimony 
and  tfie  blood  of  the  Lamb.  Could  the  precious  fruits  of 
these  trials  be  transmitted  by  inheritance  to  their  children  ? 
Could  they  receive  them,  as  they  receive  the  estates  and 
mansions  of  their  ancestors  ?  Was  it  enough  that  the  con- 
flicts of  the  Reformation  wore  severe  and  bloody,  for  the 
blessings  acquired  by  them  to  become  a  sure  and  inalienable 
possession  ?  No  doubt,  in  the  latter  half  of  the  sixteenth 
century  and  in  the  first  of  the  seventeenth,  the  Protestants 
could  easily  imagine  that  after  a  time  of  war,  a  time  of  peace 
liad  come  at  last ; — after  the  conquest,  the  enjoyment  of  its 
fruits.  This  imagination  was  in  harmony  with  human  na- 
ture ;  but  what  would  be  the  result  of  such  a  delusion  ? 

The  longing  after  enjoyment  ordinarily  leads  to  a  danger- 
ous security.     Men  desire  to  possess  without  the  labor  of 


200  KSUOIOVK    IIBKBTT. 

acqxuring :  tbey  would  fain  eat  without  toiling, — and  yet  the 
Word  of  God  lias  declared,  If  any  will  not  work,  ntither 
sfuill  Joe  eat.  •  truth  is  a  reward  bestowed  '■ 

exertions  of  tli*  ,   m,  and  is  not  to  be  acquired  wi; 

an  inward  BtruggJe,  wiiich  alone  causes  the  truth  to  live  ji 
UB,  and   I.'' '  •     — l;es  ub  partakers  of  tlue  lieavenly  ca"' 
England    :  episcopacy,  the  liturj^^y,  and  the  at 

to  a  ti  an  exaggerated     ■  '  hed. 

To  i.t  •       •        juies  of  the  church  ^^ ;  j  -rand 

creative  eflficacy,  which  they  have  not  in  themselves,  and 
whic;   ■  ■  •         •      *  '    Jt  the  animating  breath  of 

the  iJ  iweth  where  it  listeth,  and 

tfi'ju  Joburebt  tJtc  noarid  i/oemf,  bat  canut  not  tell  wJience  r 
cormth,  and  uhUh'.r  it  '/o(fh  :  .so  *'*•  cr<ri/  one  tJixit  is  horn  oi 
the  Spirir 

There  are  ijj<:;anb  t-siau^j-iji-u  tjy  lue  ueau  ui  me  L  liurcn, 
and  by  w}iich  alone  the  kingdom  of  God  expands  and  is 
maintained.  These  are  neither  episcopal  succession,  nor 
the  opus  operatum  of  the  sacraments,  nor  other  similar  insti- 
tutions. We  must  faithfully  preach  the  Word  of  God,  teach 
1'      :  •    :%.-,  and  pray  to  the  Lord  withoir  '   /  :  we  must 

.  -d  extend  the  reading  of  the  i'.  ■  plures,  en- 

lighten men's  minds,  and  convince  their  consciences  by  pious 
conversations  ;  we  must  diligently  labor  at  the  cure  and  con- 
solation of  their  souls  ;  we  must  make  the  light  of  a  christian 
life  M  ■  •  "  ••  '  '  world,  and  by  our  exfunple  lead  men  to 
be  iij  IS  Christ.     In  this  manner  the  good  seed 

is  scattered  anew  in  the  field  of  each  successive  generation. 
It  is  thus  the  earth  bringeth  forth,  first  Vie  blade,  titen  the 
ear,  and  after  tluit  tfie  full  corn  in  the  ear :  thus  the  evau- 
peli'.al  life  unfolds  itself.  A  church  is  ct>ntinued  in  th' 
vaine  manner  as  it  was  begun ;  that  is,  by  the  same  Word 
and  Spirit  of  God. 

No  Protestant  can  deny  these  truths,  for  tliey  are  the  very 
essence  of  Protestantism.  Oliver  most  justly  appreciated 
them.     He  would  have  substituted  the  spiritual  strength  of 


■.r . .  - . .    -  i.rpic«tT.  S©1 

r  the  pomps  and  praters,  more  or  kas 
n^n.r,.,  nWsbof  Lwid  hjtd  patrowaed.  We  will 
quote  an  exampie  -  '^  ^  ^'*s 

govenior  of  Ely.     A^  . ,  red  in  cel- 

ebrating di>'ine  worship  in  the  cathedral  with  all  the  fonns 
and  naagip-.     '  ^ '  - '         '  '^     "    '  ury  had  rooom- 

mended.  G  u  the  foDowii^ 

letter: 

"  To  the  Rev.  Mr,  Hitck,  at  Sly  :  These. 

''  Ely,  lOtli  Janouy,  1644. 
"Mb.  Hitch, 
"  Le^t  the  soldiers  should  in  any  tumultuous  or  disordeiij 
wav  attempt  the   reformation  of  the  cathedral  church,  I 


;iny  uiMTder  should  arisv 

■I  ad>ise  you  to  cattwi..  .   .•..>.  ..x.     -^^    "«» 

Scripture  to  the  people:  not  ut  the  V 

w\th  the  ad>nce  of  ■ 

farther.     1  desire  }  -  ; 

have  been, — but  more  frequent. 

"  Your  loving  friend, 

"  Oltvkr  Cromwklu" 

"  "-'^  ,vc  see  Oliver  recomnv  "  '~       'rhi^in^i,  rfadin^j  and 
;  Scripture,  and  mo;  srrmciu*.     This  was 

>.    It  is  in 
\v'..-  :  built  up: 

and  to  them  even  Popery  has  recourse  (at  least  to  catechiiing 

and  sermons)  whenever  she  fir, '    '    "    '*" '    ' 

But  here  was  the  evil:  tin  ^m  a  gen- 

eral,— fn  ■  nor  ;  ajid  CromweU  appOtUb  to  the  direc- 

tions of  J^',1 

And  to  this  matti  r>  had  arrived  at  last.     Prutestantism 


202  KKLiuiuua  LiBEicrr. 

had  become  the  law  of  the  country  by  a  vote  of  the  legisla- 
ture, and  as  such  was  imposed  on  all  men. 

A  law  of  this  kind  cannot  give  life.  Since  even  the  law 
of  God  d?es  not  produce  it,  how  much  the  less  can  it  be  the 
effect  of  the  law  of  man  ?  Have  ye  received  the  Spirit  by  the 
works  of  the  law,  asks  St.  Paul,  or  by  the  hearing  of  faith  ? 
The  civil  power,  by  laying  its  rude  and  unskilful  hands  on 
the  tree  of  faith,  may  shake  down  a  few  beautiful  flowers  or 
break  off  some  noble  branches,  but  cannot  impart  to  it  that 
sap,  which  alone  hringeth  forth  much  fruit.  One  only  can 
give  it :  He  who  is  the  true  Vine,  and  without  whom  we  can 
do  nothing. 

And  even  should  the  civil  power  endeavor  to  do  good  by 
the  establishment  of  really  evangelical  institutions,  party 
spirit  will  interfere  and  excite  a  formidable  opposition.  This 
Cromwell  often  experienced.  "  When  we  come  to  the  other 
trials,  as  in  that  case  of  Wales,  of  establishing  a  preaching 
ministry  in  Wales,  which  I  must  confess  for  my  part,  I  set 
myself  upon, — if  I  should  relate  what  discountenance  that 
business  of  the  poor  people  of  God  there  had  (who  had  men 
watching  over  them  like  so  many  wolves,  ready  to  catch  the 
lambs  so  soon  as  they  were  brought  forth  into  the  world) ; 
how  signally  that  business  was  trodden  under  foot  in  Parlia- 
ment, to  the  discovmtenancing  of  the  honest  people,  and  the 
countenancing  of  the  malignant  party,  of  this  commonwealth !" 

Next  to  its  union  with  Christ,  the  great  essential  for  a 
church  is  its  position  with  regard  to  the  Christian  people,  its 
intimate  and  constant  connection  with  souls,  for  the  field  is 
the  world.  Nothing  can  be  more  lamentable  than  for  the 
Church  to  forget  this,  and  to  make  its  position  with  respect 
to  the  State  the  material  point.  It  will  imagine  that  it  has 
done  its  duty,  if  it  preserves  the  state  in  a  rigid  orthodoxy. 
But  of  what  consequence  is  it  that  parliament  should  be  the 
champion  of  Protestantism,  if  true  Protestantism,  the  spir- 
itual and  christian  life,  is  found  no  longer  among  the  people  ? 
A  church  may  then  appear  brilliant  and  flourishing  from 


RKL1QI0C8   LIBEHTT.  205 

afar,  but  he  that  hxith  the  seven  Spirits  of  God  will  address  it 
in  these  words :  Thou  htst  a  -name  that  thou  livest,  and  art 
dead. 

To  sum  up  all  in  a  few  words  :  a  national  church  is  secure 
only  when,  far  from  boasting  of  its  union  with  the  state,  it 
places  no  confidence  in  the  guarantees  given  it  by  the  con- 
stitution, and  looks  for  its  life  and  its  prosperity  solely  in 
union  with  its  Head,  in  the  strength  that  the  Spirit  and 
the  Word  of  God  should  develop  in  it,  and  in  the  free  and 
energetic  exercise  of  the  intellectual,  spiritual,  and  moral 
forces  of  each  of  its  members  and  of  the  whole  community. 

This  is  a  useful  lesson  for  the  times  present. 

Cromwell  went  very  far  in  religious  liberty,  but  still  not 
far  enough.  He  did  wrong  in  transferring  his  patronage 
from  Episcopacy  to  the  Independents.  Had  he  left  all  sects 
free,  without  protection  sis  without  restraint, — had  evangel- 
ical Episcopacy,  in  particular,  been  able  to  move  freely, 
religion  would  have  been  developed  with  more  simplicity, 
and  would  probably  have  escaped  that  narrow  maimerism, 
that  cant  with  which  it  has  been  reproached,  sometimes 
perhaps  with  reason,  by  men  of  the  world.  Puritanism 
would  have  exercised  a  vivifying  influence  on  the  Episcopal 
religion ;  and  the  Episcopal  religion  would  Iiave  had  a  regu- 
lating and  moderating  influence  on  puritanism. 

Yet  Oliver  accomplished  an  immense  work  for  his  times ; 
;uid  England  should  now  raise  to  him  a  monument,  a  tri- 
umphal arch,  with  this  inscription: 

To    niE   FoiTNDER  OF   RkI.IOIOIS   T;rTIF,HTV 

We  submit  this  to  the  consideration  nf  those  who  hare 
earnestly  taken  to  heart  Canning's  motto  and  Cromwell'i 
work. 


1* 


CHAPTER    XI. 

MORALITY,    GLORY,    AND    ANTIPOPERY    OF    ENGLAND. 

The  State— Principal  Duty— The  Glory  of  England— Morality— Tri- 
umphs of  Great  Britain — Commerce — Justice — Opposition  to  Spain — 
Antipopery — Cromwell's  Name — The  Lion  of  the  Tribe  of  Judah. 

To  Cromwell  the  State  was  a  di\ane  institution,  the  main- 
taining and  governing  of  which  belonged  supremely  to  God. 
He  would  not,  like  certain  parties,  look  upon  it  as  a  purely- 
human  society.  He  did  not  think  that  it  was  based  simply 
on  terrestrial  facts,  such  as  conquests,  treaties,  and  constitu- 
tions. He  was  not  indeed  blind  to  the  influence  of  these 
things,  but  over  all,  according  to  his  views,  the  intervention 
of  the  Deity  was  to  be  recognized. 

In  some  of  his  applications  of  this  principle  he  went  too 
far.  The  State  is  an  institution  against  iniquity.  The  prince 
is  the  minister  of  God  to  execute  wrath  upon  him  that  doeth 
evil.  In  this  respect,  we  may  believe  that  the  civil  power 
and  the  Church  have  regard  to  the  same  object,  since  Christ, 
the  Head  of  the  Church,  came  into  the  world  to  take  away 
sin.  But  that  resistance  to  evil,  which  characterizes  the 
Church  and  the  State  alike,  must  be  accomplished  in  two 
diflferent  ways.  It  is  by  very  dissimilar  and  by  very  oppo- 
site means  that  these  great  societies  attain  the  end  they  have 
in  view.  The  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus  hath 
made  me  free  from  the  law  of  sin  and  death.  This  is  the 
means  whereby  the  Church  suppresses  evil :  and  in  this 
there  is  no  connection  with  that  constraint  and  with  that 
sword  which  a  ruler  beareth  not  in  vain. 

From  these  paths,  so  diflferent  and  so  distinct,  laid  down 


AXTII'OI'ERV    OK   ENGLAND.  205 

for  each  of  these  societies,  there  results  a  rule  which  is  too 
frequently  overlooked.  The  State  should  be  careful  not  to 
aim  at  producing  what  is  beyond  its  function :  the  Church 
shoidd  not  presume  to  do  that  from  which  it  ought  to  ab- 
stain. As  in  the  State  it  is  necessary  to  keep  the  legisla- 
tive, judicial,  and  executive  powers  distinct,  that  all  may  go 
on  harmoniously ;  so,  in  the  nation,  we  must  distinguish  be- 
tween the  sphere  of  the  Church  and  of  the  State,  that  the 
people  may  be  happy  and  prosperous.  We  cannot  deny  that 
Oliver  seems  occasionally  to  have  gone  too  far,  as  a  political 
chief,  in  matters  of  religion. 

But  there  is  one  point  which  he  saw  very  clearly,  and  i» 

regard  to  which  his  notions  were  true, the  pros 

perity  and  power  of  a  nation  are  based  essentially  on  its  mo 
rality  and  on  iic-  faith.  He  understood  more  distinctly  per 
haps  than  any  oti:er  ruler,  that  no  country  can  exist  and 
flourish  unless  it  have  within  itself  some  principle  of  life. 

He  had,  indeed,  other  passions  not  less  noble  than  that  of 
religious  liberty.  The  greatness,  prosperity,  and  glory  of 
England  was  a  no  less  potent  necessity  in  him,  and  he  wor- 
thily acted  up  to  it.  He  said  one  day  in  council :  "  I  hope  to 
make  the  name  of  an  Englishman  as  great  as  ever  that  of  a 
Roman  has  been."  And  in  effect  he  so  augmented  the 
general  resources  and  maritime  power  of  the  nation,  that  he 
procured  for  it  a  more  extensive  European  celebrity  and  in- 
fluence than  it  had  ever  possessed  under  an^  of  its  kings. 

But  the  Protector  knew  that  rifjhteousiiess  exalteth  a  na- 
tion, and  it  was  by  this  means  he  desired  (o  elevate  his  own. 
God  himself  spoke  to  this  people. 

The  army  was  subjected  to  an  admimble  moral  discipline, 
which,  with  the  piety  that  animated  most  of  the  ofliccrs  and 
soldiers,  concurred  in  keeping  up  a  purity  of  manners  till 
then  unknown,  especially  in  the  garri.son  and  in  the  camp. 

The  same  morality  prevailed  at  the  Protector's  court. 
Everything  was  becoming  and  honorable :  everything  in 
•trong  contrast  with  the  levity  and  debauchery  that  sur- 

18 


206  MORALITY,    GLORY,    AND 

founded  the  unfortunate  son  of  Charles  L  in  a  foreign  coun- 
try, and  of  which  the  catholic  court  of  France  ere  long  pre- 
sented so  deplorable  an  example. 

The  moral  purity  which  distinguished  the  epoch  of  the 
Protectorate  is  a  fact  of  great  importance.  We  are  here,  in 
truth,  called  upon  to  apply  the  rule  given  in  the  Word  of 
God:  Every  good  ti-ee  hnngeth  forth  good  fruit ;  hut  a  cor- 
rupt tree  bringeth  forth  evil  fruit.  When  unbelievers  and 
libertines  pronounce  for  the  reign  of  Charles  II., — a  reign 
characterized  by  great  public  licentiousness, — and  against 
the  commonwealth,  so  remarkable  for  its  christian  virtues, — 
we  can  easily  understand  them.  But  when  moral  and  relig- 
ious people  do  the  same,  we  are  at  a  loss  to  account  for 
their  motives.  This  is  a  matter  of  such  consequence  that  we 
feel  it  our  duty  to  quote  on  this  point  the  opinions  of  writers 
both  English  and  French, — writers  very  Romish,  very  royal- 
ist, and  very  hostile  to  the  Protector. 

Dr.  Lingard,  a  witness  beyond  suspicion,  does  homage  to 
the  morality  of  his  government,  although,  with  the  candor 
habitual  to  the  mass  of  Papists,  he  will  not  see  in  it  anything 
besides  appearances.  "  Among  the  immediate  consequences 
of  the  Restoration  [of  Charles  II.,  in  1660],  nothing  ap- 
peared to  the  intelligent  observer  more  extraordinary  than 
(he  almost  instantaneous  revolution  which  it  wrought  in  the 
moral  habits  of  the  people.  Under  the  government  of  men 
making  profession  of  godliness,  vice  had  been  compelled  to 
wear  the  exterior  garb  of  virtue  ;  but  the  moment  the  re- 
straint was  removed,  it  stalked  forth  Avithout  disguise,  and 
was  everywhere  received  with  welcome.  The  cavaliers,  to 
celebrate  their  triumph,  abandoned  themselves  to  ebriety  and 
debauchery ;  and  the  new  loyalists,  that  they  might  prove 
the  sincerity  of  their  conversion,  strove  to  excel  the  cavaliers 
in  licentiousness.  Charles,  who  had  not  forgotten  his  former 
reception  in  Scotland,  gladly  availed  himself  of  the  oppor- 
tunity to  indulge  his  favorite  propensities."* 

•  Lingard,  Hist.  England,  xi.  244.     London,  1839. 


AKtH'OPERY    OP   KNGLAND.  207 

Such  is  the  testimony  of  an  English  writer  ;  and  now  let 
lis  hear  what  a  Frenchman  says.  Chateaubriand,  in  spite  of 
all  his  prejudices  against  Protestantism,  is  struck  with  the 
difference  in  a  moral  light  between  the  two  revolutions  of 
France  and  England.  "  This  brief  republic,"  he  observes, 
"  was  not  without  glory  abroad,  or  without  virtue,  liberty, 

and  justice  at  home This  difference  between  the  two 

revolutions,  which  have  nevertheless  led  to  the  same  result, 
the  same  liberty,  proceeds  from  the  religious  sentiment  which 
animated  the  innovators  of  Great  Britain."  He  adds  farther 
on :     "  Setting  aside  the  illegality  of  Cromwell's  measures 

an  illegality  necessary  perhaps  after  all  to  maintain  his 

illegal  power the  ursupation  of  this  great  man  was  a 

glorious  one.  At  home,  he  asserted  the  reign  of  order. 
Like  many  despots,  he  was  the  friend  of  justice  in  every- 
thing which  did  not  touch  his  own  person  ;  and  justice 
serves  to  console  a  people  for  the  loss  of  their  liberty."* 

Such  are  the  avowals  which  truth  has  extorted  from  these 
writers,  so  eminent  but  so  blinded  by  obstinate  prejudices. 

The  superior  morality  which  characterized  England  in  the 
time  of  Cromwell,  showed  itself  abroad  by  incontestable 
proofs. 

The  English  nation,  which,  under  the  two  first  Stuarts, 
foreigners  had  begun  to  regard  as  pusillanimous,  suddenly 
displayed  the  most  striking  valor  both  by  land  and  sea. 
Freedom  and  piety,  equally  dear  both  to  the  soldiers  and 
sailors,  gave  them  fresh  energy,  and  urged  them  on  to  fight 
everywhere,  as  if  in  defence  of  the  most  sacred  rights. 

We  shall  not  recount  all  the  high  deeds  of  arms  by  which 
England  gave  token  to  the  world  of  the  renewal  of  her 
power.  We  are  not  writing  a  history  of  Great  Britain.  The 
victories  gained  over  Holland  by  the  English  fleets  under  the 
command  of  Blake  and  Monk  ;  the  gallant  Van  Tromp,  shot 
to  the  heart  with  a  musket  ball,  and  his  shattered  fleet  esca- 
ping in  disorder  to  the  Texel  ;  Cromwell  in  person  reading 
*  Les  Quatre  Stuard*. 


208  MORALITY,    GLOEY,    AND 

to  parliament  the  account  of  these  victories,  and  proposing  a 
national  recompense  to  the  victorious  admirals  ;  the  United 
Provinces  acknowledging  the  supremacy  of  the  British  flag, 
making  to  the  English  a  tardy  reparation  for  old  injuries,  and 
even  excluding  the  House  of  Orange  from  the  stadtholder- 
ship,  because  of  its  alliance  with  the  Stuarts  ;  Spain  the  first 
to  come  forward  and  do  homage  to  the  Protector,  and  even 

urging  him  openly  to  seize  upon  the  crown  of  England, 

a  flattery  to  which  his  only  reply  was  a  disdainful  silence  ; 
Portugal,  France,  the  Elector  of  Brandenburg,  at  that  time 
almost  unknown  in  Europe,  all  the  other  states,  and  even 
Christina  of  Sweden,  then  on  her  way  to  Rome,  laying  at  the 
feet  of  Great  Britain  and  of  her  chief  the  tribute  of  their 
respect  and  admiration  ;  the  fleets  of  Spain  beaten  again  and 
again  ;  the  Viceroy  of  Mexico,  surrounded  with  his  treasures, 
expiring  on  the  deck  of  his  burning  ship ;  millions  of  ingots 
of  gold  carried  to  London  as  a  monument  of  triumph  ;  other 
ships  and  other  galleons  bringing  fresh  treasures  from  the 
New  World,  burnt  and  sunk  a  second  time  in  the  bay  of 
Teneriffe ;  Gibraltar  attracting  the  eagle  eye  of  the  Protec- 
tor— "  the  town  and  castle  of  Gibraltar,  if  possessed  and 
made  tenable  by  us,  would  be  both  an  advantage  to  our  trade 

and  an  annoyance  to  the  Spaniard  ;" these  are  some  of 

the  facts  which  show  how  the  Protector  exalted  and  main- 
tained in  the  sight  of  the  foreigner  the  might  and  the  glory 
of  England. 

But  it  was  not  in  battles  only  that  Cromwell  sought  the 
power  of  his  country  ;  his  practised  eye  easily  discerned 
what  ought  to  make  the  prosperity  of  Great  Britain,  and  his 
zeal  for  commerce  surpassed  that  of  all  the  sovereigns  who 
had  preceded  him.  He  appointed  a  committee  of  merchants 
for  the  purpose  of  developing  the  resources  of  British  trade. 
They  first  met  in  the  Painted  Chamber  on  the  27th  Novem- 
ber, 1655,  and  continued  their  labors  until  the  day  of  his  death. 

Everywhere  we  find  the  same  impulse  given  by  his  potent 
hand.     Southey  acknowledges  that  Oliver's  "good  sense  and 


ANTIl'OrEKV     Oi-     LMjI.ASU.  209 

good  nature  would  have  led  liiin  to  govern  equitably  and 
mercifully,  to  promote  literature,  to  cherish  the  arts,  and  to 
pour  wine  and  oil  into  the  wounds  of  the  nation  ;"  and  adds 
that  the  dangers  to  which  he  was  exposed  prevented  him  from 
carrying  out  his  wishes.*  If,  however,  he  did  not  do  all  he  de- 
sired, he  still  effected  much.  The  judges  discharged  their 
functions  with  equity  ;  the  laws  had  their  course,  nothing  be- 
in<r  allowed  to  prevent  their  execution  ;  the  finances  were  ad- 
ministered with  economy  ;  the  array  and  the  navy  were  paid 
rpt'ularly ;  and  the  arts  of  ppace  flourished  throughout  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  kingdom. 

The  admiration  was  g<^neral :  "  Cromwell,"  says  an  histo- 
rian, "appeared  like  a  blazing  star,  raised  up  by  Providence 
to  exalt  this  nation  to  a  distinguished  pitch  of  gl'jry,  and  to 
strike  terror  into  the  rest  of  Europe." 

France  and  Spain  C(jntended  for  his  alliance  ;  he  did  not 
hesitate,  luid  united  with  France.  The  treaty  was  signed  on 
the  23d  of  October,  1G55.  Such  were  the  respect  and  fear 
then  inspired  by  England,  that  in  this  treaty  he  assumed 
amoncr  his  other  titles  that  of  Protector  of  the  kingdom  of 
France,  and  his  name  preceded  Louis  the  Fourteenth's,  who 
was  allowed  to  style  himself  merely  King  of  the  French. 

While  with  the  one  hand  Oliver  secured  to  England  an 
alliance  with  France,  with  the  other  he  offered  her  the 
power  and  the  treasures  of  Spain.  Seeing  that  his  country 
was  called  to  take  the  place  of  that  mighty  peninsula,  he  dis- 
played no  hesitation  in  his  policy.  Most  certainly  no  one 
ever  did  more  than  he  to  accelerate  the  double  ascending 
and  descending  movement  then  going  on,  and  which  was  des- 
tined to  reduce  that  kingdom  to  the  humiliating  weakness  in 
which  she  is  now  sunk,  and  make  England  the  Queen  of 
Nations.  When  Spain  solicited  an  alliance,  he  required  two 
main  conditions  ;  namely,  that  the  trade  to  the  West  Indies 
and  South  America  should  be  thrown  open  to  his  flag,  and  the 
suppression  of  the  Inquisition,  so  that  every  man  might  read 
•  Life  of  Cromwell,  p.  77. 
18* 


210  MOkALiry,  glort,  and 

the  Bible  and  worship  God  as  he  pleased.  When  the  Spanish 
ambassador  heard  these  two  strange  requests,  he  exclaimed 
in  alarm  :  "  It  is  like  asking  for  my  master's  two  eyes !" 
One  of  these  eyes  has  lost  Spain,  and  she  herself  has  lost 
the  other. 

In  his  opposition  to  that  country  Cromwell  was  guided  by 
two  motives.  If  he  wished  to  ruin  the  strength  of  that  state, 
it  was  not  only  with  the  intention  of  giving  it  to  England, 
but  of  taking  it  away  from  the  pope.  Of  these  motives  the 
second  appears  to  have  been  the  more  powerful.  "  Your 
great  enemy  is  the  Spaniard,"  said  the  Protector  in  his 
speech  of  the  l7th  of  September,  1656  ;  "he  is  naturally  so 
throughout — by  reason  of  that  enmity  that  is  in  him  against 

whatsoever  is  of  God An  enmity  is  put  into  him  by  God. 

/  will  put  enmity  between  thy  seed  and  her  seed  ; — which  goes 
but  for  little  among  statesmen,  but  is  more  considerable  than 

all  things No  sooner  did  this  nation  form  what  is  called 

(unworthily)  the  Reformed  Religion,'-'"  after  the  death  of 
Queen  Mary,  by  the  Queen  Elizabeth  of  famous  memory, — 
we  need  not  be  ashamed  to  call  her  so ! — but  the  Spaniard's 
design  became,  by  all  unworthy,  unnatural  means,  to  destroy 
that  person,  and  to  seek  the  ruin  and  destruction  of  these 

kingdoms Here  then  is  some  little  foundation  laid  to 

justify  the  war  that  has  been  entered  upon  with  the  Span- 
iard !  and  not  only  so  :  but  the  plain  truth  of  it  is,  Make  any 
peace  with  any  state  that  is  popish  and  subjected  to  the 
determination  of  Rome  and  of  the  pope  himself, — you  are 
bound  and  they  are  loose.  Peace  is  to  be  kept  so  long  as 
the  pope  saith  Amen  to  it 

"  All  the  honest  interests ;  yea,  all  the  interests  of  the 
Protestants,  in  Germany,  Denmark,  Helvetia,  and  the  Can- 
tons, and  all  the  interests  in  Christendom,  are  the  same  as 
yours.  If  you  succeed,  if  you  succeed  well  and  act  Avell, 
and  be  convinced  what  is  God's  interest,  and  prosecute  it, 

*  Cromwell,  it  seems,  did  not  think  the  Anglican  reform  BufBciently 
complete  to  deserve  that  name. 


ANTIPOPKRY    OF    ENGLAND.  211 

you  will  find  that  you  act  for  a  very  great  many  who  are 
God's  own.  Therefore,  I  say  that  your  danger  is  from  the 
common  enemy  abroad  [Spain]  ;  who  is  the  head  of  the 
papal  interest,  the  head  of  the  antichristian  interest.  Except 
you  will  deny  the  truth  of  the  Scriptures,  you  must  needs 
see  that  that  state  is  so  described  in  Scripture  [Ep.  to  Thess. 
and  Rev.]  to  be  papal  and  antichristian,  I  say,  with  this 
enemy,  and  upon  this  account,  you  have  the  quarrel  with  the 
Spaniard."  * 

Thus  in  Cromwell's  views  Rome  was  the  antichristian 
spiritual  power,  and  Spain  the  civil  power  by  which  she  had 
long  been  abetted.  There  may  be  persons  who  will  dispute 
that  this  can  be  found  in  the  Apocalypse,  but  no  one  will 
dispute  that  it  is  really  found  in  history.  The  verdict  of 
posterity  has  ratified  his  opinion. 

If  the  positive  principle  he  gave  to  the  British  state  was 
morality  and  faith,  the  negative  principle  was  resistance  to 
Popery.     He  held  each  of  these  in  equal  importance,  for  at 

bottom  they  concentre  in  one in  the  Gospel.     With 

their  aid  England  has  spen  the  days  of  her  e.xaltation  ;  when 
they  are  neglected,  or  set  aside,  then  will  come  the  day  of 
her  decline. 

While  the  Protector  made  war  upon  Spain,  he  was  in  re- 
ality fighting  against  Rome.  This  he  did  in  England  most 
essentially  by  the  development  of  the  evangelical  spirit. 
But  he  disdained  not  to  cause  her  other  alarms,  and  took 
advantage  of  every  opportunity  to  make  her  sensible  of  his 
power.  Admiral  Blake  was  sent  with  a  fleet  into  the  Medi- 
terranean to  obtain  satisfaction  from  the  Boy  of  Tunis  for  the 
losses  of  the  British  merchants  from  Turkish  pirates.  He  sail- 
ed right  into  the  harbor,  and  though  the  shore  was  planted 
with  heavy  guns,  he  burnt  nine  of  the  Turkish  vessels,  and 
brought  the  tyrant  to  reason.  But  he  did  not  confine  him- 
Bclf  to  this  mission  :  he  sj)road  the  terror  of  the  English  name 
ever  all  Italy,  even  to  Rome  itself.  The  alarmed  citizens, 
♦  Burton '»  Diary,  i.  rlviii.     Carlyl*,  iii.  196-203, 


212  MORALITY,    OLOKY,    A>fD 

every  moment  fearfully  expecting  the  arrival  of  Blake  and 
his  twenty-four  ships,  hastily  put  Civita  Vecchia  in  a  state 
of  defence.  At  the  same  time,  processions  were  made  in  the 
pontifical  city;  and  the  host  was  exposed  for  forty  hours  to 
avert  the  judgments  of  Heaven,  and  preserve  the  patrimony 
of  St.  Peter. 

Not  long  before,  there  had  been  great  rejoicings  in  Rome, 
at  the  extirpation  of  Protestantism  in  Calabria  and  the  Val- 
teline.  Cromwell  meditated  retaliation  :  "  Their  expected 
triumph,"  writes  Mr.  Pell  to  Secretary  Thurloe,  on  the  9th 
of  June,  1655,  "would  be  turned  into  sad  processions,  if, 
instead  of  rooting  out  their  old  Italian  inland  churches,  they 
should  see  an  English  colony  planted  in  one  of  their  s^a- 
towns,  which  seems  not  impossible  to  be  eftected,  if  England 
would  but  attempt  it."*  It  was  not  at  Malta,  as  hi  the 
nineteenth  century,  but  under  the  very  walls  of  the  pope,  so 
to  speak,  that  Cromwell  then  thought  of  making  a  settle- 
ment. 

"  Set  up  your  banners  in  the  name  of  Christ,"  the  Pro- 
tector wrote  to  Vice-admiral  Goodson,  in  October,  1655; 
"  for  undoubtedly  it  is  His  cause.  And  let  the  reproach  and 
shame  that  hath  been  for  our  sins,  and  through  (also  Ave  may 
say)  the  misguidance  of  some,  work  up  your  hearts  to  con- 
fidence in  the  Lord,  and  for  the  redemption  of  His  honor 
from  the  hands  of  men."  [Cromwell  alludes  to  the  failure 
of  an  expedition  sent  against  the  Spanish  settlement  of  His- 
paniola.]  "  '  Though  He  hath  torn  us,  yet  He  will  heal  us ; 
though  he  hath  smitten  us,  yet  He  will  bind  us  up ;  after 
two  days  He  will  revive  us,  in  the  third  day  He  will  raise  us 
up,  and  we  shall  live  in  His  sight.'     (Hosea,  vi.  1,  2.) 

"  The  Lord  himself  hath  a  controversy  with  your  enemies ; 
even  with  that  Roman  Babylon,  of  which  the  Spaniard  is  the 
great  under-propper.  In  that  respect,  we  fight  the  Lord's 
battles ; — and  in  this  the  Scriptures  are  most  plain.  The 
Lord  therefore  strengthen  you  with  faith,  and  cleanse  you 
*  Vaughan's  Protectorate,  i.  194. 


ANTTPOPERY    OF    EXGLAXD.  213 

from  all  evil :  and  doubt  not  but  He  is  able,  and  I  trust  as 
willing,  to  give  you  as  signal  success  as  He  gave  your  ene- 
mies against  you.  Only  the  Covenant-fear  of  the  Lord  be 
upon  you."* 

It  is  the  Protector's  gloiy  that  he  discerned  in  Rome  the 
chief  enemy  to  the  liberty,  prospenty,  and  piety  of  nations. 
This  in  our  days  is  called  prejudice  and  superstition.  Severe 
lessons  will  teach  the  nations,  to  their  cost,  which  of  the  two 
is  right — their  modern  leaders,  or  tlie  jjreat  man  of  the 
seventeenth  century. 

Such  was  Oliver  Cromwell.  "  Lord  of  these  three  king- 
doms," says  Southey,  "  and  indisputably  the  most  powerful 
potentate  in  Europe,  and  as  certainly  the  greatest  man  of  an 
age  in  which  the  race  of  great  men  was  not  extinct  in  any 
country,  no  man  was  so  worthy  of  the  station  which  he  filled." 
His  glory  was  not  confined  to  Great  Britain  only  ;  it  filled 
Europe,  reached  Asia,  and  was  re-echoed  from  the  shores 
of  America.  A  French  writer  comparing  Oliver  with  Na- 
poleon, says  that  the  former  was  exclusively  an  English  hero, 
whilst  the  latter  carried  his  name  into  every  quarter  of  the 
world.  It  is  true  that  Cromwell  did  not  launch  his  destroy- 
ing legions  into  Spain  and  Russia,  and  even  into  Egypt.  It 
is  true  that  he  thought  it  the  highest  excellence  to  live  in 
Christ,  to  the  end  that  God  in  all  things  miyht  he  glorified, 
and  to  bear,  like  Simon  the  Cyrenean,  the  cross  and  the 
shame  of  the  Lord.  But  it  is  a  grand  mistake  to  suppose 
that  his  name  was  hardly  known  beyond  the  British  isles. 
So  great  was  his  renown  that  it  extended  even  to  the  distant 
plains  of  Asia,  where  the  descendants  of  Abraham  in  agita- 
tion inquired  of  one  another  whether  this  was  not  the  servant 
of  the  Lord  whom  they  were  looking  for,  and  the  branch 
promised  to  David  (Jer.  xxiii.  5).  "  Such  was  the  reputa- 
tion which  Cromwell  obtained  abroad  by  his  prodigious  ele- 
vation, the  lofty  tone  of  his  government,  and  the  vigor  of 
his  arms,  that  an  Asiatic  Jew  is  said  to  have  come  to  Eng- 
♦  Thurloe,  iv  633     Carlyle.  iii.  157. 


214  GLORT    OF   ENGLAND. 

land  for  the  purpose  of  investigating  his  pedigree,  thinking 
to  discover  in  him  the  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah"* 

With  his  own  name  OHver  spread  afar  the  name  of  Eng- 
land, which  he  was  the  first  to  engrave  on  the  distant  land- 
marks of  the  nations.  It  is  he  who  opened  to  his  people 
that  path  of  glory  and  of  power,  which  their  ships  now 
traverse  in  every  sea.  The  life  of  Britain,  which  had  lost 
all  vigor  under  the  Stuarts,  Avas  aroused,  electrified,  as  it 
were,  by  the  same  principle  which  animated  its  chief ;  and 
once  more  was  seen  the  accomplishment  of  the  ancient 
promise  :  The  Lord  thy  God  loill  set  thee  on  high  above  all 
nations  of  the  earth. 

♦  Southey's  Life  of  Cromwell,  81. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

DEFENDER    or    Till;    lAITH. 

Defence  of  Protestantism — Letter  to  a  Protestant  Prince — Piedmontese 
Massacre — The  Protector  interferes — Geneva — Cromwell'8  Advice  to 
the  Protestants — Portugal — France:  Nismes — Intervention — Switzer- 
land— Germany — Austria — Council  for  the  general  Interests  of  Prot- 
estantism— The  Protector's  living  Christianity — The  eternal  Truths — 
Pompeii,  Nineveh,  and  the  Bible. 

Cromwell  was  not  siitisfied  with  merely  frightening  the 
Pope  in  his  own  Babylon,  and  with  directing  his  efiForts  in 
every  quarter  against  the  Roman  power ;  he  at  the  same 
time  zealously  pursued  the  great  cause  of  the  Reformation 
in  Europe  and  in  the  world,  and  thus  assigned  to  England 
that  station  as  Queen  of  the  Protestant  world,  which  has 
been,  and  ever  will  be,  her  glory  and  her  strength,  so  long 
as  she  shall  remain  true  and  faithful  to  this  great  calling. 
This  was  his  third  ruling  passion, — religious  liberty, — the 
greatness  of  England, — the  prosperity  of  Protestantism. 
Where  is  the  statesman  that  has  ever  had  in  view  nobler 
and  more  beneficial  objects  ? 

He  entertained  the  same  affection  tor  tiie  several  rt'tornied 
churches  abroad  as  for  those  of  Great  Britain.  Writing  to 
a  Protestant  prince,  he  congratulated  him  on  his  inviolable 
zeal  for  the  evangelical  churches, — "  A  zeal  the  more  worthy 
of  praise,  at  a  time  when  such  flattering  hopes  are  given  to 
persons  of  your  rank,  if  they  will  forsake  the  orthodox  faith  ; 
and  where  those  who  continue  steadfast  are  threatened  with 
8o  many  troubles.     I  call  God  to  witness  (adds  Cromwell) 


216  DEFENDER    OP    THK    FAITH. 

that  I  desire  nothing  so  much  as  an  opportunity  to  answer 
the  favorable  opinion  the  churches  have  of  my  zeal  and 
piety,  by  endeavoring  to  propagate  the  true  faith,  and  pro- 
cure rest  and  peace  for  the  Church.  Hold  firm  to  the  or- 
thodox religion  vyhich  you  have  received  from  your  fathers  : 
nothing  will  bring  you  greater  glory,  than  to  protect  it  as 
much  as  lies  in  your  power."* 

Cromwell  thought  it  his  vocation  to  be  m  the  whole  world 
what  he  was  at  home — the  great  champion  of  religious  lib- 
erty. 

"  His  Highness,"  wrote  Secretary  Thurloe,  on  the  Vth  of 
July,  1654,  "  continues  his  ancient  zeal  to  the  Protestant  re- 
ligion, whereof  nobody  need  doubt  nor  have  the  least  scru- 
ple, but  may  build  the  greatest  resolutions  thereupon."!  A 
noble  opportunity  ere  long  occurred  for  proclaiming  this  to 
the  whole  world. 

On  the  3rd  of  June,  1655,  sad  tidings  reached  England 
from  Piedmont,  and  filled  all  Protestant  heaifc  with  sorrow, 
but  particularly  that  heart  which  beat  strongest  for  the  cause 
of  the  Gospel.  The  descendants  of  the  Waldenses,  those 
great  evangelists  of  the  Middle  Ages,  were  living  peaceably 
in  the  valleys  of  Lucerne,  Peroza,  and  St.  Martin,  between 
Piedmont  aod  Savoy.  This  very  year  a  persecution  broke 
out  against  them  with  inconceivable  violence :  the  natural 
result  of  the  desire  to  convert  the  heretics,  occasioned  by 
the  great  jubilee  of  1650.  To  bring  about  this  act  of  se- 
verity, the  pope  put  forward  a  singular  motive, — that  the 
country  of  the  Waldenses  might  be  given  to  the  Irish  Avho 
were  banished  for  their  concern  in  the  massacre  of  the  Prot- 
estants in  Ireland. 

Early  in  1655  an  order  was  sent  from  the  court  of  Turin 
to  the  heads  of  the  reformed  families  dwelling  at  La  Torre, 
the  little  capital  of  the  Vaudois,  enjoining  them  to  quit  their 
homes  within  three  days,  and  retire  with  their  families  to 

*  Letter  to  the  Prince  of  Tarente,  quoted  in  Neale,  ii.  640. 
f  Vaughan's  Protectorate,  i.  21. 


DKFI^DER    OF    THE    FAITH.  21*1 

certain  districts  that  were  assigned  them.  They  were  also 
required  to  prove  within  the  space  of  twenty  days,  either 
that  they  had  themselves  become  Romanists  or  Iiad  sold 
their  property  to  Catholics.  Many  hundreds  of  families 
were  compelled  to  flee  in  the  midst  of  the  rigors  of  winter. 
In  the  spring  an  army  of  15,000  men  entered  their  valleys. 
Twenty-two  villages  were  reduced  to  ashes  ;  aged  people  of 
both  sexes  were  burnt  in  their  houses  ;  the  men  were  hewn 
in  pieces  ;  the  women  were  impaled  naked  ;  children  were 
torn  from  their  mothers'  arms,  and  their  brains  dashed  out 
against  the  rocks.  One  hundred  and  fifty  females  were  be- 
headed, and  their  heads  were  used  in  a  game  at  bowls.* 

The  bard  of  Paradise  Lost,  when  he  heard  of  this  mas- 
sacre, seized  his  lyre,  and  called  to  God  for  vengeance  in  this 
noble  strain : — 

Avenge,  O  Lord,  thy  slaughter'd  saints,  whose  bones 
Lie  scatter'd  on  the  Alpine  mountains  cold; 
Even  them  who  kept  thy  truth  so  pure  of  old, 
When  all  our  fathers  worshipt  stocks  and  stones, 

Forget  not;  in  thy  book  record  their  groans, 
Who  were  thy  sheep,  and  in  their  ancient  fold 
Slain  by  the  bloody  Picdmontese  that  roU'd 
Mother  with  infant  down  the  rocks.     Their  moans 

The  vales  redoubled  to  the  hills,  and  they 

To  heaven.     Their  murtyr'd  blotxl  and  ashes  sow, 
O'er  all  the  Italian  fields,  where  still  doth  sway 

The  triple  tyrant;  that  from  these  may  grow 
A  hundredfold,  who,  having  learn'd  thy  way, 
Early  may  fly  the  Babylonian  woe. 

In  this  terrible  desolation  the  poor  inhabitants  of  the  val- 
luvs  first  looked  to  God,  and  then  to  England.  Their  eyes 
were  turned  towards  the  Protector,  and  they  said  to  one 
another,  that  no  doubt  he  would  show  compassion  to  their 
churches,  although  they  hardly  dared  implore  his  succor.f 

•  L6ger,  Histoire  des  Vaudois. — VUlemain  and  Victor  Hugo  hoTe 
confounded  the  Vaudois  of  Piedmont  with  the  inhabitants  of  the  Canton 
of  Vaud  in  Switzerland. 

t  Vaughnn  s  Protectornte,  i,  110. 

19 


218  DEFENDER    OF    THE    FAITH. 

When  the  Protector  received  this  sad  intelligence,  he  bursi 
into  tears.  "  The  sufferings  of  these  poor  people,"  he  said, 
"lie  as  near,  or  rather  nearer,  to  my  heart,  than  if  it  had 
concerned  the  nearest  relations  I  have  in  the  world."  That 
very  day  he  was  to  sign  the  treaty  with  France ;  but  he  re- 
fused to  do  so,  until  the  king  and  Mazarin  had  bound  them- 
selves to  assist  him  in  seeing  justice  done  to  these  unfortu- 
nate inhabitants  of  the  valleys.  He  sent  them  two  thousand 
pounds  from  his  own  purse,  and  Milton  was  employed  to  ad- 
dress letters  to  all  the  Protestant  states  of  Europe, 

to  the  kings  of  Sweden  and  Derunark,  to  the  United  Prov- 
inces of  Holland,  to  the  reformed  Cantons  of  Switzerland, 
and  to  the  several  churches  of  Germany  and  France.  He 
wrote  with  his  own  hand  to  the  French  king,  to  Cardinal 
Mazarin,  and  to  the  Duke  of  Savoy.  Finally,  he  appointed 
a  day  of  fasting  and  humiliation,  and  a  general  collection  all 
over  England.  This  contribution  amounted  to  £37,097,  7s. 
3d.,  a  very  large  sum  for  that  period.  "  I  believe  we  shall 
at  length  see  the  need  we  have  of  a  union,  and  that  a  cor- 
dial one  too,"  wrote  Secretary  Thurloe,  on  the  25th  of  May 
1655,  to  Mr.  Pell,  the  English  minister  in  Switzerland ; 
"  what  is  executed  upon  the  poor  Piedmontese  is  intended 
against  us  all,  as  they  have  opportunity  and  means."* 

As  soon  as  it  was  known  on  the  Continent  that  Cromwell 
took  the  interests  of  the  Waldenses  so  much  to  heart,  the 
persecutors  began  to  feel  the  greatest  alarm.  The  Piedmon- 
tese, and  their  allies,  already  fancied  they  saw  an  English 
army  landing  from  their  ships  and  overrunning  their  country. 
In  fact  the  English  minister  in  Switzerland  spoke  of  this  de- 
sign as  of  very  easy  execution,  and  to  that  end  called  for  an 
alliance  with  the  United  Provinces.f  This  was  Cromwell's 
intention,  and  he  insisted  that  the  matter  should  be  taken 
into  serious  consideration.  "  To  do  it  slightly,"  wrote 
Thurloe  on  the  8th  of  November  1655,  "  will  not  be  either 

*  Vaughan's  Proctectorate,  i.  186. 

t  Pell  to  Thurloe  ;  Vaughan's  Protectorate,  i.  222. 


DEFENDEE    OF    THE    FAITU.  219 

honorable  for  us,  or  profitable  for  the  people  ;  and  the  opin- 
ion here  [at  Whitehall]  is,  not  to  begin  it  unless  there  be 
resolution  firm  and  fixed  to  go  through  with  it  effectually."* 

In  the  meanwhile  the  Protector  sent  Samuel  Morland  to 
the  Duke  of  Savoy  with  a  letter,  in  which,  after  represent- 
ing the  cruelty  and  injustice  of  the  duke's  behavior  to- 
wards the  Protestants  of  the  valleys,  he  added,  '•  that  he 
was  pierced  with  grief  at  the  news  of  the  sufferings  of  the 
Vaudois,  being  united  to  them  not  only  by  the  common  ties 
of  humanity,  but  by  the  profession  of  the  same  faith,  which 
obliged  liiin  to  regard  them  as  his  brethr,  n ;  and  he  should 
tliink  himself  wanting  in  his  duty  to  God,  to  charity,  and  to 
his  religion,  if  he  should  be  satisfied  with  pitymg  them  only 
(whose  miserable  condition  was  enough  to  raise  compassion 
in  the  most  barbarous  minds) ;  unless  he  also  exerted  him- 
self to  the  utmost  of  his  ability  to  deliver  them  out  of  it." 

On  the  Continent  there  was  no  people  that  took  a  greater 
interest  in  the  fate  of  the  Waldeuses  than  the  Genevese.  As 
soon  as  the  news  of  the  massacre  reached  their  city,  a  fast- 
day  was  appointed  (10th  May,  1055),  collections  were  made 
from  house  to  house  to  send  aic^  to  the  suffering  brethren, 
and  the  garrison  was  augmented ;  for  it  w;is  thought  that 
Savoy  was  planning  an  attack  on  Geneva.  Morland  on  his 
way  back  from  Turin  stayed  some  time  in  that  city,  which 
was,  so  to  speak,  the  centre  of  Cromwell's  protestant  action 
on  the  Continent.  Intelligence  of  the  necessities  of  the  re- 
formed churches  was  most  freipicntly  sent  to  England  by 
Professor  Tronchin,  and  money  wjis  forwarded  to  the  Wal- 
deuses through  the  hands  of  the  banker,  Mr.  James  Tronchin. 
The  names  of  Coliadon  and  Calandrini  occur  also  in  this 
correspondence.  Mr.  Pell,  the  English  minister  in  Switzer- 
land, repaired  in  person  to  Geneva.  He  was  in  that  city  on 
the  12th  of  December,  1655,  a  day  of  thanksgiving  in  com- 
memoration of  its  deliverance,  fifty-three  years  before,  from 
the  attempt  of  the  Duke  of  Savoy  to  enfcr  the  town  by 
•  Letter  to  PcII,  ibid,  291 . 


220  DEFENDER    OF    THE    FAITH. 

ladders  in  the  night.  After  the  morning  sermon  two  of  the 
senators  took  Pell  over  the  fortifications,  and  showed  him 
their  weakness  on  the  side  towards  Savoy,  giving  him  to  un- 
derstand that  they  hoped  the  Protector  would  furnish  them 
with  the  means  of  completing  these  works.  About  a  month 
later,  Cromwell  replied  by  Thurloe,  "  that  he  not  only 
wished  their  welfare  and  prosperity  with  all  his  heart,  but 
would  be  ready  to  contribute  to  it  as  far  as  God  should  en- 
able him."*  When  Morland  was  recalled  towards  the  end 
of  the  next  year,  the  Protector  renewed  his  assurances  to  the 
same  effect.  Geneva  has  always  reckoned  on  the  affection 
of  the  mighty  and  protestant  England. 

The  zeal  of  the  English  chief  was  crowned  with  success. 
Even  Mazarin,  at  his  instigation,  wrote  in  the  most  pressing 
language  to  the  court  of  Turin,  and  an  agreement  was 
signed  at  Pignerol,  restoring  religious  liberty  to  the  Walden- 
Bes.  There  was  not  a  potentate  in  Europe  so  bold  as  to 
dare  expose  himself  to  Cromwell's  displeasure  by  refiising 
his  request. 

At  the  same  time  this  Defender  of  the  Protestant  faith, 
wishing  to  give  the  pope*  and  the  petty  princes  of  Italy  a 
lesson  calculated  to  strike  them  with  terror,  gave  out,  that 
as  he  was  satisfied  they  had  been  the  promoters  of  this  per- 
secution, he  would  keep  it  in  mind,  and  lay  hold  of  the 
first  opportunity  to  send  his  fleet  into  the  Mediterranean  to 
visit  Civita  Vecchia  and  other  parts  of  the  ecclesiastical  ter- 
ritories, and  that  the  sound  of  his  cannon  should  be  heard 
in  Rome  itself.  He  further  declared  publicly  that  he  would 
not  suft'er  the  true  faith  to  be  insulted  in  any  part  of  the 
world.f 

In  his  eyes  (and  he  was  one  of  the  most  clear-sighted  of 
statesmen),  this  was  not  merely  an  isolated  attack  against 
Protestantism,  but  the  first  step  of  a  general  conspiracy 
which  had  for  its  object  the  annihilation  of  the  reformed 

*  Vaughan's  Protectorate,  i.  333. 
t  Neale,  Hist.  Puritans,  ii.  654,  655. 


UEFEKDEU    OK    THE    KAITII.  221 

faith.  He  often  recurred  to  this  idea,  and  orders  were  sent 
to  all  his  foreign  ministers  to  lay  clearly  before  tlie  evangel- 
ical states  the  danger  with  which  they  were  threatened. 

This  he  did  more  particularly  in  a  letter  of  the  7th  of 
July,  1655,  addressed  to  his  minister  in  Switzerland.  Sec- 
letary  Thurloe  writes  thus  to  Mr.  Pell : — 

"  I  have  formerly  desired  you  would  endeavor  to  under- 
stand fully  and  particularly  what  is  the  true  mind  and  inten- 
tion of  the  Protestant  cantons  as  to  this  business.  It  is 
certain  that  the  design  of  crushing  Protestantism  w;is  general ; 
and  to  speak  of  the  duke's  word  in  any  agreement  which 
shall  be  made  is  frivolous.  The  poor  Protestants  [of  the 
valleys]  ought  to  have  another  kind  of  security  than  that, 
and  it  is  time  for  the  Protestants  in  all  the  world  to  consider 
their  own  security  also.  If  this  does  not  awaken  us,  we  are 
under  a  prejudicial  slumber.  The  whole  nation  is  with  the 
Protector,"  adds  Thurloe.* 

With  these  views  Cromwell  stipulated  in  all  his  treaties 
for  religious  liberty  in  behalf  of  the  Protestants.  He  re- 
quired of  Portugal  the  free  exercise  of  the  evangelical  faith ; 
but  he  met  with  difficulties  which  gave  him  a  fresh  opport.u- 
nity  of  expreseing  his  sentiments  ^vith  regard  to  the  pope. 
On  the  Gth  of  May,  1656,  he  wrote  in  the  following  terms 
to  the  adnurals  Blake  and  Montague,  then  at  sea : — "  In  one 
of  the  articles  agreed  with  the  [Portuguese]  ambassador,  it 
was  expressed,  that  the  [English]  merchants  [in  Portugal] 
should  enjoy  liberty  of  conscience  in  the  worship  of  God  in 
their  own  houses  and  aboard  their  ships  ;  enjoying  also  the 
u.se  of  English  Bibles,  and  other  good  books ;  taking  care 
that  they  did  not  exceed  this  liberty.  Now,  upon  the  send- 
ing of  Mr.  Meadows  [under-secretary  of  state],  unless  we  will 
agree  to  submit  this  article  to  the  determination  of  the  pope, 
we  carmot  have  it ;  whereby  he  would  bring  us  to  an  owning 
of  the  pope ;  which,  we  hope,  whatever  befall  us,  we  shall 

•  Vnughaii'«  Protectorate,  i.  914. 


222  DEFENDER    OF    THE    FAITH. 

not,  by  the  grace  of  God,  be  brought  unto."*  Never  was 
there  statesman  more  decided  than  he  with  regard  to  the  see 
of  Rome. 

Nor  did  the  Protector  confine  himself  to  one  particular 
country.  He  showed  the  same  zeal  for  the  Protestants  of 
France  as  he  had  manifested  for  those  of  the  valleys. 

From  the  commencement  of  the  English  revolution,  the 
oppressed  Huguenots  began  to  be  filled  v/ith  hope,  and  to  im- 
plore the  succor  of  their  British  brethren.  Bordeaux  was 
at  that  time  the  centre  of  this  Protestant  resistance ;  and 
Mazarin  was  greatly  alarmed  at  their  proceedings.  "  I  am 
assured,"  wrote  M.  de  Gentillot,  one  of  his  secret  agents  in 
London,  "  that  if  the  citizens  of  Bordeaux  had  plainly  aban- 
doned the  affections  and  interests  of  the  princes  and  of 
royalty  to  look  solely  to  their  own  liberty  and  to  the  interest 
of  the  poor  people,  an  alliance  would  undoubtedly  have  been 
formed  with  them."f 

The  example  of  England  was  a  strong  temptation  to  the 
French  Protestants.  They  Avould  willingly  have  trodden 
in  the  same  paths  of  liberty  and  emancipation.  A  Scotch 
doctor,  named  More,  appears  to  have  encouraged  them  in 
this.  In  Lower  Languedoc  and  at  Bordeaux  a  project  was 
formed  for  setting  up  a  parliament  of  a  hundred  members, 
similar  to  that  of  England.  More  presented  this  manifesto 
to  the  Council  of  State  in  London  in  November,  1653,  and 
entreated  their  support. 

Other  agents  sent  by  the  Protector  into  France,  seriously 
urged  him  to  declare  in  favor  of  the  oppressed  and  perse- 
cuted religion.  The  most  influential  French  pastors  corre- 
sponded with  the  heads  of  the  Council  of  State  in  England. 
The  fermentation  and  enthusiasm  were  general  throughout 
all  the  south,  and  the  Protestants,  imagining  the  eve  of 
their  deliverance  to  be  at  hand,  fasted  and  prayed  pub- 

*  Thurloe,  iv.  768.     Carlyle,  lii.  175. 
t  Revue  Nouvelle,  1846,  403. 


DEFENDER    OK   THE    KAITH.  228 

licly  for  the  preservation  of  the  Protector,  calling  him 
plainly  "  their  only  hope  next  to  God  !"* 

But  Cromwell  was  no  less  prudent  than  brave.  He  knew 
that  if  he  should  inconsiderately  lend  his  aid  to  the  Protest- 
ants, he  might  by  that  very  step  cause  their  total  ruin.  He 
called  to  mind  the  saying  of  our  Lord  :  What  kiiifj,  goincj  to 
make  zvar  against  another  king,  sitteth  not  dovm  first,  and 
consulteth  whether  he  be  able  with  ten  thousand  to  meet  him 
that  comelh  against  him  with  twenty  thousand  ? 

Among  the  agents  of  the  Foreign  Office  was  one  Stonpe, 
a  Grison  by  birth,  then  minister  of  the  French  church  in  the 
Savoy,  and  afterwards  brigadier-general  in  the  French 
armies,  an  intriguing  man,  and  who,  says  Bishop  Burnett, 
who  knew  him  well,  was  only  a  Protestant  in  outward  ap- 
pearance. The  Protector  beheved,  and,  as  it  appears,  with 
reason,  that  such  a  person  might  be  very  sers'iceable  in  this 
affair.  He  was  summoned  to  Whitehall.  "  You  will  make 
a  tour  through  France,"  said  Cromwell  to  him  ;  "you  will 
communicate  with  the  chief  Protestants  ;  you  will  carefully 
examine  into  the  resources  of  the  Huguenot  party,  into  their 
present  disposition,  the  oppressions  they  lie  under,  and  their 
inclinations  to  trust  the  Prince  of  Conde.  You  will  assure 
the  reformed  of  our  zeal  and  our  care  to  procure  them  lib- 
erty of  faith ;  but,"  added  he,  "  you  will  talk  to  them 
merely  as  a  traveller." 

Stoupe  departed.  He  reached  Paris,  descended  the  Loire, 
irrived  at  Bordeaux,  visited  Montauban,  and  traversed  the 
-outh  of  France  on  his  way  to  Lyons.  He  was  astonished 
at  all  he  saw.  Mazarin,  influenced  by  his  awe  of  Cromwell, 
look  care  that  the  edicts  in  favor  of  the  Protestants  should 
be  observed  with  an  exactitude  till  then  unknown.  "  We  are 
not  discontented,"  was  the  general  reply  to  Stoupe,  "  and 
we  are  not  inclined  to  ri.se.  We  have  no  confidence  in  the 
Prince  of  Conde  ;  he  is  an  ambitious  man,  ever  ready  to 

*  See  the  dispatch  of  M.  de  Bordeanx,  envoy  of  the  Kinj;  of  France, 
'f>  M.  dc  Brienne,  ihid. 


224  CJSF£ND£R    OF    XHii;    FAITH. 

sacrifice  all  his  friends  and  every  cause  he  espouses  lo  his 
own  projects  of  greatness." 

Stoupe  made  his  report  to  the  Protector,  and  it  was  suffi- 
cient to  decide  Cromwell.*  He  understood  that  it  Avas  by 
other  means  he  should  come  to  the  support  of  the  Protest- 
ants,— by  his  moral  influence  and  not  by  his  armies  ;  and  to 
this  he  turned  his  attention. 

In  May,  1654,  Secretary  Thurloe  wrote  to  Mr.  Pell : 
"  There  are  great  endeavors  used  by  the  French  to  make  an 
alliance  here,  but  no  progress  is  made  therein  as  yet ;  nor 
will  there  be,  without  making  full  provision  for  the  Protest- 
ants, and  that  you  may  be  confident  upon  on  all  occasions."! 
The  French  ambassador  positively  refused  "  that  those  of 
the  reformed  religion  in  France  should  have  the  exercise  of 
their  religion  as  full  as  they  ought  by  any  law  granted." 
"  If  h«  persists  in  his  resolution,"  writes  Thurloe  on  the  14th 
of  July  in  the  same  year,  "  little  is  to  be  expected  from  the 
treaty ;"  and  he  adds  on  the  24th  of  November,  "  his  High- 
ness is  very  willing  to  accommodate  things  Avith  France,  but 
cannot  for  any  outward  advantage  do  that  which  is  prejudi- 
cial to  the  Protestants,  nor  forsake  their  interests." 

In  1656  there  happened  a  quarrel  between  the  reformed 
citizens  of  Nismes  and  the  magistrates  and  bishop  of  the 
city.  The  intendant  of  the  province  having  interfered,  a  dis- 
turbance broke  out,  of  which  an  account  was  immediately 
sent  to  court.  The  Protestants  submitted  and  begged  par- 
don ;  but  the  minister,  delighted  with  the  opportunity,  re- 
solved to  ruin  them.  Upon  this  they  dispatched  a  messen- 
ger privately  to  Cromwell,  and  begged  his  interposition. 
After  giving  audience  to  their  delegate,  he  bade  him  "  re- 
fresh himself  after  so  long  a  journey,  and  he  would  take 
such  care  of  his  business  that  by  the  time  he  came  to  Paris 
he  should  find  it  dispatched."     Accordingly,  an  express  was 

♦  Burnet,  89,  90.     Lond.  1753. 
■(■  Vaughan's  Protectorate,  i.  2,  21.  , 


DEFENDER    OF   THE    FAITH.  225 

immediately  sent  off  with  a  letter  to  the  King  of  France, 
under  cover  of  the  following  to  Cardinal  Mazarin. 

"  To  his  Eminvnce  the  Lord  Cardinal  Mazarin. 

"  Having  thought  necessary  to  dispatch  this  gentleman 
to  the  king  with  the  inclosed  letter,  I  commanded  him  to 
(salute  your  Eminence  on  my  part ;  and  having  charged  him 
to  communicate  to  you  certain  affairs  which  I  have  intrusted 
him  with  :  I  therefore  pray  your  Highness  to  give  credit  to 
wliat  he  shall  say,  having  an  entire  confidence  in  him. 
"  Your  Eminence's  most  affectionate 

"  Oliver  Cromwell, 
"  Protector  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Enrfland,  tkc. 
"  Whitehall,  Dec.  28th,  1656." 

He  moreover  added  tlie  following  postscript  in  his  own 
hand  : — 

"  I  have  been  informed  of  the  tumult  at  Nismes :  I 
recommend  to  your  Highness  the  interest  of  the  reformed."* 

At  the  same  time  the  Protector  forwarded  instructions  to 
his  ambassador  at  Vei-sailles,  commanding  him  to  insist 
peremptorily  "  that  the  tumult  of  Nismes  be  forgiven,"  or 
else  immediately  to  leave  the  country.  Mazarin  complained 
of  this  usage  as  being  too  high  and  imperious ;  but  at  the 
same  time,  he  stood  in  so  much  awe  of  the  English  ruler, 
that  he  changed  countenance  whenever  he  heard  his  name 
mentioned  ;  and  it  was  a  current  saying  in  France,  that  the 
cardinal  was  more  afraid  of  Cromwell  than  of  the  devil. 
The  French  court  gave  way,  and  sent  orders  to  the  intendant 
to  make  up  matters  at  Nismes  as  well  as  he  could. 

Had  Cromwell's  spirit  animated  the  English  government 
in  our  days,  the  iniquity  of  Otaheite  would  never  have  been 
committed  ;  and  we  should  not  have  seen  the  priest-party  in 
France  inveighing,  on  the  one  hand,  against  the  three  north- 

*  Neale,  ii.  668.     Sec  also  Clorondon'a  Rebellion,  end  of  book  rr. 


226  DEFENDER    OF   THE    FAITH, 

ern  powers  for  annihilating  the  independence  of  Cracow, 
and,  on  the  other,  making  war  upon  a  people  who  have  never 
known  a  master,  and  who,  as  regards  moral  power  and  polit- 
ical and  religious  life,  are  certainly  fai*  superior  to  the  Cra- 
covian  citizens.  The  energy  with  which  this  little  nation  has 
held  in  check  for  several  years  the  people  who  consider 
themselves  the  first  in  the  world,  is  a  pretty  clear  proof  that 
it  deserves  to  be  independent.  The  priest-party  of  France, 
by  protesting  against  the  occupation  of  Cracow  and  by  pro- 
voking the  assault  on  Otaheite,  has  had  the  unenviable  honor 
of  furnishing  the  civilized  world  with  the  most  notorious 
example  in  modem  times  of  that  blindness  which  strains  at  a 
(jnat  and  swalloios  a  camel. 

Oliver  carried  into  practice  in  the  seventeenth  century 
that  famous  motto  which  was  the  glory  of  one  of  the  great- 
est Englishmen  of  the  nineteenth civil  and  religious 

liberty  in  all  the  vxyrld.  Practice,  in  our  opinion,  is  much 
better  than  theory ;  but  the  example  set  by  the  Protector, 
which  had  no  precedent,  has  unfortunately  met  with  no 
imitation.  The  French  Protestants  were  abandoned,  both  at 
the  peace  of  Ryswick  in  1697,  and  again  at  that  of  Utrecht 
in  1713,  although  hundreds  of  Huguenots  were  perishing  in 
dungeons  or  groaning  on  board  the  galleys.  If  Cromwell's 
spirit  had  continued  to  govern  England,  the  revocation  of 
the  Edict  of  Nantes  would  never  have  taken  place.  May 
we  be  permitted  to  pay  a  feeble  tribute  of  esteem  to  the 
great  man  who  was  the  protector  of  our  ancestors,  and  who 
would  have  been  the  vindicator  of  Protestant  France  if  he 
had  lived,  or  if  he  had  survived  in  successors  worthy  of  him. 

His  attachment  to  the  great  cause  of  Evangehcal  Prot- 
estantism extended  over  all  Europe.  In  Switzerland,  for 
instance,  he  endeavored  to  arouse  and  reanimate  the  interests 
of  the  Reformation.  "  You  stand  so  much  in  awe  of  yom* 
popish  neighbors,"  said  his  minister  in  May,  1655,  to  the 
Evangelical  Swiss,  "  that  you  dare  not  budge  a  foot  in  favor 
of  any  Protestant  churcb,  lest  the  popish  cantons  should  fall 


DEFENDKR    OF    THE    f^'AITM.  22l 

Upon  you.  If  Geneva  should  need  you,  the  greater  number 
among  you  would  answer,  We  cannot,  for  want  of  money ! 
We  dare  not,  for  fear  of  our  popish  neighbors  !"* 

Cromwell,  knowing  at  the  same  time  that  the  Romish 
cantons  were  strongly  supported  by  the  princes  of  their 
faith,  ordered  his  minister  (22d  February,  1656,)  "  to  assist 
the  evangelical  cantons  to  make  a  good  and  honorable  peace, 
and  to  that  end  to  counterbalance  by  his  endeavors  the 
interposition  of  the  public  ministers  of  other  princes,  who 
may  be  partial  to  the  popish  cantons. "f 

He  interposed  also  in  Germany  in  defence  of  the  religious 
liberty  of  the  reformed  states.  In  a  Latin  letter  from  a 
very  considerable  person,  which  was  forwarded  to  Cromwell 
in  January,  1655,  we  read:  "The  whole  popish  cohort  is 
plotting  against  us  and  ours.  We  must  consider  and  inquire 
into  everything  with  prudence.  We  must  deliberate  on  the 
means  to  be  employed  for  our  common  preservation  ;  for  we 
know  the  aim  of  all  our  Babylonian  adversaries.  The  Lord 
of  Hosts  be  the  Protector  of  the  Protector  and  of  the 
Church. "J  This  writer  added  :  "  The  persecution  continues 
in  Austria  and  in  Bohemia,  and  it  is  very  easy  to  foresee  a 
general  league  of  the  Papists  against  the  Protestants  of  Ger- 
many and  Switzerland." 

Against  this,  Oliver  made  provision.  If  he  could  not 
reach  them  with  the  arm  of  his  power,  he  sent  them  proofs 
at  least  of  his  sympathy.  Collections  were  made  by  his 
order  in  behalf  of  the  persecuted  Protestants  of  Bohemia ; 
and  again  in  1657,  when  delegates  from  the  Polish  and  Sile- 
sian  Protestants  arrived  in  England  complaining  of  the  per- 
BBcution."?  directed  against  them,  public  subscriptions  were 

•  VaughanV  Protectorate,  i.  181,  182.  t  I^i''  »•  355. 

■^  Tola  cohor*  papwtica  veram  molitur  conjurationem  in  noatroa,  in 
no«.  Omnia  prudcntur  considerandu,  pcnctranda.  Deliberandum  de 
raoiiis  ronsorvationiH  inututc ;  quia  scopum  advcrsariorum  Babylonico- 

rum  Bcimus Sit  Deua  Zabaoth  Protector  Protectoris  ct  Ecclcsis. 

Taughan's  Protccloratc,  i.  114. 


228  DBFENDEH   OF   THE   FAITH, 

immediately  opened  in  their  favor  throughout  the  whole 
country.* 

Desirous  of  giving  regularity  to  all  these  movements, 
Cromwell  conceived  the  idea  of  a  great  institution  in  favor 
of  the  evangelical  faith.  He  proposed  to  unite  all  the  vari- 
ous members  of  the  Protestant  body,  and  by  this  means 
place  them  in  a  condition  to  resist  Rome,  which  was  at  that 
time  preparing  for  conquest.  To  this  end  he  resolved  to 
found  a  council  for  the  General  Interests  of  Protestantism, 
and  he  was  probably  led  to  this  idea  by  the  establishment 
of  the  Roman  congregation  for  the  propagation  of  the  faith. 
He  divided  the  Protestant  world  out  of  England  into  four 
provinces  :  the  first  included  France,  Switzerland,  and  the 
Piedmontese  valleys ;  the  second  comprised  the  Palatinate 
and  other  Calvinistic  countries  ;  the  third,  the  remainder  of 
Germany,  the  north  of  Europe,  and  Turkey ;  the  colonies  of 
the  East  and  West  Indies  (Asia  and  America)  formed  the 
fourth.  The  council  was  to  consist  of  seven  members  and 
four  secretaries,  who  were  to  keep  up  a  correspondence 
with  aU  the  world,  and  inquire  into  the  state  of  religion 
everywhere,  to  the  intent  that  England  might  suitably  direct 
her  encouragement,  her  protection,  and  her  support.  The 
yearly  sum  of  £10,000,  with  extraordinary  supplies  in  case 
of  need,  was  to  be  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  council, 
whose  sittings  were  to  be  held  in  Chelsea  CoUege.f 

No  doubt  many  objections  might  be  urged  against  this 
plan.  It  was  perhaps  to  be  feared  that,  in  certain  cases, 
such  diplomatic  interposition  might  injure  the  spiritual  char- 
acter and  true  life  of  the  reformed  religion.  But  Cromwell's 
chief  object  was  to  maintain  religious  liberty  in  all  the  world 
as  he  was  maintaining  it  in  England.  It  is  right  that  the 
Protestants  on  the  Continent  should  know  what  a  friend  they 
had  in  the  illustrious  Protector.  A  Catholic  historian,  one 
of  those  who  have  perhaps  the  least  appreciated  his  christian 
character,  cannot  here  repress  a  movement  of  admiration. 
*  Vaughan'«  Protectorate,  ii.  258.  t  Burnet,  i.  109. 


DEFENDER   OF    THE    FAITH.  22d 

"  When  we  think  of  the  combats  of  the  Protestant  religioa 
against  the  CathoHc  faith,"  says  M.  Villemain,  "  it  was  un- 
doubtedly a  noble  and  a  mighty  thought  to  claim  for  him- 
self the  protection  of  all  the  dissident  sects,  and  to  regulate 
in  a  fixed  and  durable  manner  the  support  which  England 
liad  granted  them  on  more  than  one  occasion.  If  it  had  not 
been  interrupted  by  death,  Cromwell  would  no  doubt  have 
resumed  a  design  so  much  in  accordance  with  his  genius,  and 
which  his  power  would  have  allowed  him  to  attempt  with 
courage." 

Such  was  the  Protector's  activity.  In  every  place  he 
showed  himself  the  true  Samaritan,  binding  up  the  wounds 
of  those  who  had  fallen  mto  the  liands  of  the  wicked,  and 

pouring  in  oil  and  wine He  is  the  greatest  Protestant 

that  has  lived  since  the  days  of  Calvin  and  Luther.  More 
than  any  other  sovereign  of  England  he  deserved  the  glorious 
title  of  Defender  of  the  Faith. 

Cromwell  was  something  more  than  the  champion  of  an 
outward  and  official  Protestantism.  Had  his  task  been 
limited  to  that,  it  would  excite  but  little  sympathy  in  us, 
and  it  would  have  produced  no  very  great  results.  None 
perhaps  compromise  true  Protestantism  so  much  as  those 
who,  forgetful  of  the  spiritual  nature  of  the  movement  of 
the  sixteenth  century,  reduce  it  to  a  mere  political  system. 
The  Protestantism  of  the  reformers  is  the  evangelism  of  the 
apostles,  neither  more  nor  less.  Let  us  beware  of  making 
it  a  mongrel  existence,  half-spiritual  and  half-secular.  Crom- 
well employed  his  power  to  protect  religious  liberty  in  all 
Europe  ;  but  the  origin  of  his  foreign  activity  is  found  in 
the  fact  of  his  having  felt  in  his  own  soul  the  truth  of  this 
'scripture  :    Where  ike  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is,  there  is  liberty. 

The  ancient  religious  life  of  the  Reformation  was  lost :  it 
had  been  replaced  by  an  attachment  to  forms.  Men  care- 
fully inquired  whether  there  was  or  was  not  apostolical  suc- 
cession ;  they  examined  whether  the  prayers,  the  sacraments, 
and  the  worship  were  in  conformity  with  the  canons  and 
20 


230  CKFKNDER   OF   THE   FAITM. 

with  the  liturgy ;  tliey  placed  their  hands  everywhere  to  try 
all  things — everywhere  except  on  their  own  heart — to  feel 
if  it  still  beat.  They  were  earnestly  occupied  with  con- 
formities ;  but  they  forgot  one,- — that  which  renders  man 
conformable  to  Jesus  Christ. 

A  religious  revival  took  place  ;  truth  and  the  Christian 
life  reappeared.  A  dry  orthodoxy,  a  clerical  system,  was 
followed  by  a  Christianity  as  fruitful  as  it  was  sincere. 
Oliver  is  one  of  those  in  whom  this  spiritual  revolution  was 
the  most  striking.  In  every  page  of  his  history  we  meet 
■with  proofs  of  his  faith.  Rarely  has  there  appeared  in  the 
world  a  heart  that  beat  so  strongly  for  everlasting  truth. 

This  faith,  of  which  Oliver  constituted  himself  the  de- 
fender, cannot  perish.  It  may  be  covered  and  hidden,  at 
one  time  by  the  arid  sands  of  infidelity,  and  at  ai.other  by 
the  tumultuous  "waves  of  human  passions,  or  by  the  images, 
surplices,  and  relics  of  superstition  ; — but  it  always  revives, 
lifts  up  its  head,  and  reappears.  The  revelations  of  God 
are  for  all  times,  and  they  have  in  all  ages  the  same  eternal 
truth,  the  same  eternal  beauty.  They  are  like  those  rocks 
in  the  midst  of  the  ocean,  which  the  flood-tide  covers,  and 
which  seem  swallowed  up  forever,  but  which  always  raise 
their  tops  again  above  the  waters.  In  vain  does  one  gene- 
ration imagine  it  has  hidden  the  everlasting  rock  of  God's 
truth ;  it  will  become  visible  in  the  next.  There  is  a  con- 
tinual alternation,  a  constant  struggle  between  light  and 
darkness  ;  but  the  light  prevails  at  last.  And  even  should 
there  come  an  age  which  fancies  it  has  forever  buried  God's 
truth, — should  any  volcanic  eruption  of  society  overwhelm 

it  with  the  ashes  of  another  Vesuvius, Pompeii  after 

seventeen  centimes  has  again  restored  to  the  light  of  day  its 
houses  and  its  tombs,  its  palaces  and  its  temples,  its  circus 
and  its  amphitheatres.  Can  it  be  thought  that  the  truth 
and  the  life,  which  God  has  given  in  His  Gospel,  will  be  less 
perennial  than  the  frail  tenements  of  man  ?  There  are  per- 
haps now  subterranean  fires  threatening  the  truth  of  God. 


DEFENDER   Of   THE    PAltfJ.  231 

A  daring  pantheistic  and  socialist  philosophy  imagines  that 
it  has  done  with  the  crucified  One.  And  should  it  even 
so  far  succeed  as  to  throw  a  little  dust  and  lava  on  the 
eternal  doctrine,  the  Lord  of  Heaven  will  blow  upon  it,  and 
the  dust  shall  be  scattered  and  the  lava  be  melted. 

Cromwell,  as  a  Christian,  is  the  representative  of  one  of 
those  epochs  in  which  the  light  reappears  after  darkness,  ac- 
cording to  the  device  of  a  city  which  shone  forth  with  a  new 
and  great  brightness  in  the  days  of  the  Reformation.*  It 
was  not  to  England  alone  that  he  wished  to  restore  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Gospel ;  he  put  his  candle  on  a  candlestick,  and 
the  house  which  he  desired  by  this  means  to  illumine  was 
Europe, — nay,  the  whole  world.  He  has  been  compared  to 
Bonaparte,  and  there  are,  indeed,  striking  features  of  re- 
semblance between  them.  Neither  was  satisfied  with  con- 
fining himself  to  his  own  countiy  alone,  and  both  exerted 
their  activity  abroad.  But  while  Napoleon  bore  to  other 
nations  French  tyranny  and  indifference,  Cromwell  would 
have  given  them  religious  liberty  and  the  Gospel.  The 
<;vela.sting  revelations  having  reappeared  in  England  and  re- 
ceived the  homage  of  a  whole  people,  it  was  Cromwell's 
ambition  to  present  them  to  the  entire  world.  He  did  not 
succeed,  and  to  the  majority  of  European  countries  the  Bible 
is  a  book  hidden  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth.  But  this  noble 
design,  which  Oliver  could  not  accomplish,  has  again  been 
undertaken  in  our  own  days  on  the  banks  of  the  Thames. 
The  revelations  of  God  are  printed  in  the  language  of  every 
people.  The  time  will  come  whep  the  thick  veil,  which  still 
hides  these  sacred  characters  from  so  many  nations,  shall  be 
rent  at  last.  The  massive  walls,  the  proud  courts,  the  mag- 
nificent porches  of  Nineveh  are  now  rising  from  beneath  the 
sands  of  the  desert.  Its  inscriptions,  numbering  two,  three, 
and  four  thousand  years,  are  reappearing  to  *he  eyes  of  the 
civilized  and  astonished  children  of  the  distant  aud  barbarous 

•  Post  tenebras  lux  is  the  motto  of  Geneva :  on  ita  shield  u  blso  a  hud 
bearing  in  its  centre  the  name  of  Jrsn-   I    H   S 


232  DEFENDER   OF   THE   FAITH. 

Europe,  and  the  light  of  day  once  more  falls  upon  the 
antique  characters  traced  by  Ninus,  Sardanapalus,  or  Nabo- 

polassar ! The  books  which   Moses   began,  not   less 

ancient  than  these  Assyrian  inscriptions,  possess,  we  may  be 
sure,  more  vitality  than  they  ;  and  future  ages,  by  giving  to 
Europe  religious  liberty,  will  realize  the  mighty  plan  which 
Cromwell  could  not  accomplish. 


CHAPTER    XIII 


THE    KINGSHIP. 


New  Parliament-^Ludlow — The  Protector's  Speech — Exclusions — Pro- 
posals about  the  Kingship — Discussions  on  this  Subject  between  tho 
Parliament  and  the  Protector — Struggles — Cromwell's  Refusal — Was 
he  right"? — His  character — Ambition. 

The  Protector  could  not  perform  all  these  various  tasks 
without  difficulty.  Notwithstanding  the  religious  liberty  he 
gave  to  England  at  home,  and  the  glory  with  which  he  en- 
circled her  name  abroad,  the  strict  republicans  were  discon- 
tented, and  often  told  him  to  his  face  that  his  government 
Wtis  illegitimate,  and  that  they  and  their  friends  had  not  been 
lavish  of  their  blood  for  the  purpose  of  enthroning  anew  tho 
power  of  one  man. 

In  1G56,  he  determined  to  call  a  new  ParHament.  This 
was  necessary  for  the  approval  of  hostilities  with  Spain,  and 
for  obtaining  the  needful  supplies.  But  he  fe^ired  that  the 
republicans,  who  were  determined  to  oppose  everything, 
would  vote  against  this  war — a  war  so  glorious  in  his  eyes 
and  so  advantageous  to  England.  He  accordingly  sent  for 
Major-general  Ludlow,  the  leader  of  this  party,  and  required 
liim  to  gi\e  security  not  to  act  against  the  present  govern- 
ment. Ludlow  answered,  "  I  desire  to  have  the  nation  gov- 
cnied  by  its  own  consent." — "  And  so  do  I,"  replied  Oliver ; 
"  but  where  shall  Ave  find  that  consent ;  among  the  prelatical, 
presbyterian,  independent,  anabaptist,  or  levelling  parties  ?" 
— "  Among  those  of  all  sorts,"  rejoined  the  other,  "  who 
have  acted  with  fidelity  and  aflfection  to  the  public."    The 

20* 


234  riiE  KINGSHIP. 

Protector  feeling  convinced  that  Ludlow  was  for  throwing 
England  again  into  confusion,  said  to  him  :  "  All  men  now 
enjoy  as  much  liberty  and  protection  as  they  can  desire ;  and 
I  am  resolved  to  keep  the  nation  from  being  imbrued  again 
in  blood.  I  desire  not,"  he  continued,  "to  put  any  more 
hardships  upon  you  than  upon  myself ;  nor  do  I  aim  at  any- 
thing by  this  proceeding  but  the  public  quiet  and  security. 
As  to  my  own  circumstances  in  the  world,  I  have  not  much 
improved  them,  as  these  gentlemen  (pointing  to  his  council) 
well_know."*  All  that  he  said  was  strictly  true.  After  a 
revolutionary  storm,  liberty  exists  most  of  all  in  order ;  and 
to  possess  order  there  must  be  strength. 

When  the  Parliament  met  according  to  appointment  on 
the  iVth  of  September,  1656,  Dr.  Owen,  vice-chancellor  of 
Oxford,  preached  a  sermon  before  them  in  Westminster  Ab- 
bey, from  the  text :  Whai  shall  one  then  answer  the  messen- 
gers of  the  nation?  that  the  Lord  hath  founded  Zion,  and  the 
poor  of  His  people  shall  trust  in  it  (Isaiah  xiv.  32).  It  was 
not  only  the  poor  of  her  own  people,  but  the  poor  of  other 
nations  that  tnxsted  in  the  protection  of  England.  Voices 
might  be  heard  from  the  shores  of  France  and  from  the  lofty 
valleys  of  the  Alps,  replying  to  this  sermon :  "  Yea,  verily, 
Amen !" 

The  members  having  adjourned  to  the  Painted  Chamber, 
the  Protector  took  off  his  hat  and  delivered  one  of  the  no- 
blest, most  sensible,  energetic,  and  religious  speeches  ever 
uttered  by  a  statesman.  After  touching  in  succession  upon 
Spain,  the  Papists,  the  Levellers,  the  equality  of  all  sects,  on 
the  reformation  of  morals,  and  on  the  necessity  of  prompt 
and  extraordinary  remedies  for  sudden  and  extraordinary 
maladies,  he  concluded  in  the  following  words : — 

"  Therefore  I  beseech  you  in  the  name  of  God,  set  your 

hearts  to  this  work.     And  if  you  set  your  hearts  to  it,  then 

you  will  sing  Luther's  Psalm  (Ps.  xlvi).      That  is  a  rare 

Psalm  for  a  Christian ! — and  if  he  set  his  heart  open,  and 

*  Neale,  ii.  658. 


THE    KINGSHIP.  236 

can  approve  it  to  God,  we  shall  hear  him  say  :  God  is  our 
refuge  and  strength,  a  very  present  help  in  time  of  trouble. 
If  Pope  and  Spaniard,  and  Devil  and  all  set  themselves 
against  us, — thongli  they  should  comjmss  us  like  bees,  as  it  is 
in  tlie  hundred  and  eighteenth  Psalm, — yet  in  the  name  of 
the  Lord  we  should  destroy  them !  And,  as  it  is  in  this 
Psalm  of  Luther's,  We  will  not  fear,  though  the  earth  be  re- 
moved, and  though  the  mountains  be  carried  into  the  middle 
of  the  sea  ;  though  the  waters  thereof  roar  and  be  troubled  ; 
though  the  mountains  sliake  with  the  swelling  thereof.  There 
is  a  river,  the  streams  whereof  shall  make  glad  the  city  of 
God.  God  is  in  the  midst  of  her  ;  she  shall  not  be  moved.  Then 
the  Psalmist  repeats  two  or  three  times.  The  Lord  of  Host  is 
with  us  ;  the  God  of  Jacob  is  our  refuge." 

Cromwell  did  well  in  thus  recalling  Luther  to  mind.  We 
fancy  we  can  hear  the  reformer  in  the  castle  of  Coburg  dur- 
ing the  Diet  of  Augsburg  in  1530.  In  political  views  there 
was  the  most  marked  distinction  between  these  two  great 
men ;  but  in  more  essential  things,  and  in  their  opposition  to 
the  papacy,  modern  history  does  not  present  us  with  two 
more  similar  minds. 

"  I  have  done,"  continues  Oliver.  "  All  I  have  to  say  is. 
To  pray  God  that  lie  may  bless  you  with  His  presence  ;  that 
lie  who  hath  your  hearts  and  mine  would  show  His  presence 
in  the  midst  of  us. — I  desire  you  will  go  together,  and  choose 
your  Speaker."* 

The  Protector,  remembering  what  had  happened  before, 
and  how  easy  it  was  for  a  few  minds,  unfriendly  to  order,  to 
disturb  the  state,  was  resolved  to  take  such  mciisures  as  ho 
judged  best  to  prevent  the  Parliament  from  thwarting  his 
views  and  checking  the  prosperity  and  glory  of  England. 
To  this  end  he  had  recourse  to  a  step  which  in  our  days 
would  excite  a  just  astonishment.  A  guard  was  placed  at 
the  door  of  the  hou.se,  and  no  one  was  allowed  to  enter  with- 

*    liiirtnn'fl  ninrv.  i.  ir)8.      r.flfrrs  nnil  5<prrrhri«.  iii.  23H 


236  THK   KINQSHIP. 

out  a  certificate  from  the  council.  By  this  means  about  a 
hundred  members  were  excluded. 

Oliver's  penetration  was  imequalled :  his  sagacity  and 
knowledge  of  mankind  were  most  remarkable.  If  there  was 
a  man  in  England  who  excelled  in  any  faculty  or  science,  he 
found  him  out,  and  rewarded  him  according  to  his  merit. 
But  he  also  knew  his  private  enemies  and  those  of  the  pub- 
lic prosperity,  and  his  firm  hand  either  put  them  aside  or 
kept  them  down.  This  he  showed  in  the  case  in  question. 
He  consented,  however,  to  give  a  pledge  for  the  freedom  of 
the  national  representation.  It  was  agreed  that  for  the 
future  no  member  should  be  excluded  from  parliament  ex- 
cept by  a  vote  of  the  house.  The  war  with  Spain  was 
approved  of,  and  supplies  to  the  amount  of  £400,000  were 
voted  to  carry  it  on. 

If  we  allow,  as  we  are  bovmd  to  do,  that  the  measure 
employed  by  Cromwell  Avas  inconsistent  with  the  freedom 
of  parliament  and  with  the  principles  of  constitutional  gov- 
ernment, we  must  also  ackowledge  that  these  stretches  of 
power  were  at  that  time  necessary  to  the  stability  of  his 
authority,  and  that  without  these  somewhat  despotic  acts, 
the  nation  would  inevitably  have  been  again  involved  in  war 
and  confusion.  Above  all,  we  should  remember  that  the 
necessary  check  upon  representative  governments — an  upper 
house — no  longer  existed  in  England.  The  right,  therefore, 
which  he  claimed  of  rejecting  a  portion  of  the  represent- 
atives, must  in  his  mind  have  been  intended  to  supply  the 
want  of  a  House  of  Lords.  There  was,  therefore,  a  constitu- 
tional element  in  this  measure  of  exclusion. 

Tlie  beginning  of  the  year  1657  nearly  realized  the  gloomy 
foresight  of  Cromwell.  One  of  the  chief  levellers.  Quarter- 
master Sindercombe,  after  several  ineffectual  attempts  at 
assassination,  endeavored  to  set  fire  to  Whitehall.  He  was 
apprehended,  but  eluded  his  punishment  by  taking  poison. 
Parliament  went  in  a  body  to  offer  their  congratulations  to 


THE    KINGSHIP.  HD^ 

the  Protector  on  his  escape  from  danger,  to  which  he  replied 
with  his  usual  good  sense  and*  piety.* 

It  was  now  felt  necessary  to  settle  the  order  and  pros- 
peri  tj-  of  England  on  a  more  solid  basis  ;  and  many  even  of 
the  republicans  felt  that  royalty  was  essential  to  so  de- 
sirable an  end.  The  initiative  in  this  matter  did  not  proceed 
from  Cromwell,  but  from  the  Parliament.  Colonel  Jephson, 
one  of  the  members  for  Ireland,  moved  that  the  Protector 
should  have  the  crown,  with  the  title  of  Kixo,  and  was  sec- 
onded by  Alderman  Pack,  one  of  the  representatives  for  the 
city  of  London.  When  the  Protector  was  informed  of  this, 
says  the  republican  Ludlow,  he  mildly  reprimanded  the 
colonel  one  day  at  table,  and  said  to  him :  "  1  cannot  im- 
agine what  you  were  thinking  of,  when  you  made  such  a 
motion."  Upon  Jephson's  replying  that  he  begged  the 
liberty  to  follow  the  impulse  of  his  conscience,  Oliver  patted 
him  on  the  shoulder,  saying:  "  Go,  go!  you  are  mad."  The 
strict  republicans  opposed  the  motion  with  great  vehemence, 
Lamber,  Desborough,  and  Fleetwood,  Cromwell's  son-in-law, 
taking  the  lead.  These  men,  who  belonged  to  his  family 
and  enjoyed  his  friendship,  "  confidently  undertook  to  know," 
says  Clarendon,  "  that  OHver  would  never  consent  to  it;  and 
therefore  it  was  very  strange  that  any  men  should  importune 
the  putting  such  a  question."  But  as  the  majority  of  the 
lawyers,  whose  opinions  in  such  a  matter  must  have  had 
j^freat  weight,  declared  in  favor  of  royalty,  the  motion  passed. 

On  the  31st  of  March,  the  House  of  Commons  presented 
a  petition  to  the  Protector,  inviting  him  to  take  the  title  and 
office  of  king,  which,  said  the  Parliament,  would  be  most 
conformable  to  the  laws  and  temper  of  the  people  of  flng- 
land.  Cromwell  prayed  for  time  to  deliberate  on  their  re- 
el uest  :  "  I  have  lived  the  latter  part  of  my  age  in  the  fire  ;  in 
the  midst  of  troubles,"  said  he.  "But  all  the  things  that 
have  befallen  me  since  I  was  first  engaged  in  the  affairs  of 
this  Commonwealth  would  not  so  move  my  heart  and  spirit 
♦  Spe6ch  vi.  in  Carlyle.  iii.  *254,  &c. 


238  THE   KINGSHIP. 

with  that  feax  and  reverence  of  God  that  becomes  a  Chris- 
tian, as  this  thing  that  hath  rrow  been  offered  by  you  to  me. 

"  And  should  I  give  any  resolution  in  this  matter  sud- 
denly, without  seeking  to  have  an  ansAver  put  into  ray  heart, 
and  so  into  my  mouth,  by  Him  that  hath  been  my  God  and 
my  guide  hitherto, — it  would  savor  more  to  be  of  the  flesh, 
to  proceed  from  lust,  to  arise  from  arguments  of  self.  And 
if  my  decision  in  it  have  such  motives  in  me,  it  may  prove 
even  a  curse  to  you  and  to  these  three  Nations."* 

Three  days  after  (on  Friday,  3d  April,  1657)  a  committee 
of  the  house,  among  whom  were  Lord  Broghil,  General  Mon- 
tague, the  Earl  of  Tweeddale,  Whitelocke,  and  others,  hav- 
ing waited  on  the  Protector,  he  said  to  them :  "  I  return 
the  Parliament  my  grateful  acknowledgment.  But  I  must 
needs  say,  that  that  may  be  fit  for  you  to  offer,  which  may 
not  be  fit  for  me  to  undertake.  I  am  not  able  for  such  a 
irust  and  charge." 

On  the  11th  of  April,  the  committee,  nominated  by  Par- 
liament  to  present  their  reasons  in  favor  of  the  petition  of 
the  house,  attended  at  Whitehall.  Lord  Whitelocke,  Lord 
Chief-justice  Glyn,  Lenthall,  once  speaker  of  the  long  parlia- 
ment, and  several  others,  spoke  in  turn.  The  latter  main- 
tained that  the  title  of  Protector  was  unknown  to  the  Ensf- 
lish  Constitution :  Nolumus  leges  Anglioe  niutari !  exclaimed 
he.     Oliver  required  time  for  reflection. 

The  latter  motive  could  not  fail  to  have  great  weight  with 
him.  He  also  was  unwilling  that  the  laws  of  England 
should  be  changed,  and  notwithstanding  all  appearances  to 
the  contrary,  he  had  at  heart  a  strong  conservative  feeling. 
When  he  sacrificed  trifling  things,  it  was  to  preserve  greater 
ones.  Protestantism  and  liberty  were  in  his  eyes  the  la<v, 
and  as  it  were  the  essence,  of  England.  In  comparison  with 
these  a  prince  and  a  dynasty  were  mere  accidents.  The 
whole  question  resolves  itself  into  this :  In  a  nation  what 
must  we  preserve — essential  or  secondary  things  ? 
*  Burton's  Diary,  i.  413.     Carlyle,  iii.  271. 


THE   KINGSHIP.  239 

On  the  1 3tli  of  April  a  committee  of  ninety-nine  attended 
again  at  the  palace,  when  the  Protector  delivered  his  eleventh 
recorded  speech.  On  the  one  hand  he  felt  all  the  force  of 
the  reasons  urged  by  Parliament,  and  more  particularly  by 
the  lawyers  ;  but,  on  the  other,  he  considered  it  his  duty 
not  to  alienate  the  godly  men  with  whose  help  hf.  had  re- 
stored peace  and  order  to  England. 

"  I  undertook  the  place  I  am  now  in,"  said  he,  "  not  so 
much  out  of  hope  of  doing  any  good,  as  out  of  a  desire  to 
prevent  mischief  and  evil, — which  I  did  sec  was  imminent 
on  the  nation.  I  say,  we  were  running  headlong  into  con- 
fusion and  disorder,  and  would  necessarily  have  run  into 
blood ;  and  I  was  passive  to  those  that  desired  me  to  under- 
take the  place  which  I  now  have. 

*'  And  therefore  I  am  not  contending  for  one  name  cora- 
j)ared  with  another ; — and  therefore  have  nothing  to  answer 
to  any  arguments  that  were  used  for  preferring  the  name 
kingship  to  protectorship.  For  I  should  almost  think  any 
name  were  better  than  my  name ;  and  I  should  altogether 
think  any  person  fitter  than  I  am  for  such  business  ;  and  I 
compliment  not,  God  knows  it. 

"  But  this  I  should  say,  that  I  do  think,  you,  in  the  set- 
tling of  the  peace  and  liberties  of  this  nation,  which  cries  as 
loud  upon  you  as  ever  nation  did  for  somewhat  that  may 
beget  a  consistence,  ought  to  attend  to  that ;  otherwise  the 
nation  will  fall  in  pieces !  And  in  that  so  far  as  I  can,  I  am 
ready  to  serve  not  as  a  king,  but  as  a  constable,  if  you  like ! 
For  truly  I  have,  as  before  God,  often  thought  that  I  could 
not  tell  what  my  business  was,  nor  what  I  was  in  the  place 
I  stood  in,  save  comparing  myself  to  a  good  constable  set  to 
keep  the  peace  of  the  parish. 

"  I  say,  therefore,  I  do  judge  for  myself  there  is  no  such 
necessity  of  this  name  of  king. 

"  I  must  say  a  little  ;  I  think  I  have  somewhat  of  con- 
science to  answer  as  to  the  matter,  and  I  shall  deal  seriously 
as  before  God. 


240  THE    KINGSHIP. 

"  If  you  do  not  all  of  you,  I  am  sure  some  of  you  do,  and 
it  behooves  me  to  say  that  I  do  '  know  my  caUing  from  the 
first  to  this  day.'  I  was  a  person  who,  from  my  first  em- 
ployment, was  suddenly  preferred  and  lifted  up  from  lesser 
trusts  to  greater ;  from  my  first  being  a  captain  of  a  troop 
of  horse  ;  and  did  labor  as  well  as  I  could  to  discharge  my 
trust ;  and  God  blessed  me  therein  as  it  pleased  Him.  And 
I  did  truly  and  plainly — and  in  a  way  of  foolish  simplicity, 
as  it  was  judged  by  very  great  and  wise  men,  and  good  men 
too — desire  to  make  my  instruments  help  me  in  that  work. 
I  had  a'^^ery  worthy  friend  then  ;  and  he  was  a  very  noble 
person,  and  I  know  his  memory  is  very  grateful  to  all, — Mr. 
John  Hampden.  At  my  first  going  out  into  this  engagement 
[enterprise],  I  saw  our  men  were  beaten  at  every  hand.  I 
did  indeed  ;  and  desired  him  that  he  would  make  some  addi- 
tions to  my  Lord  Essex's  array,  of  some  new  regiments ;  and 
I  told  him  I  would  be  serviceable  to  him  in  bringing  such 
men  in  as  I  thought  had  a  spirit  that  would  do  something 
in  the  work.  This  is  very  true  that  I  tell  you ;  God  knows 
I  lie  not.  '  Your  troops,'  said  I,  '  are  most  of  them  old  de- 
cayed serving-men  and  tapsters,  and  such  kind  of  fellows ; 
and,'  said  I,  '  their  troops  are  gentlemen's  sons,  younger 
sons,  and  persons  of  quality :  do  you  think  that  the  spirits 
of  such  base  and  mean  fellows  will  ever  be  able  to  encounter 
gentlemen,  that  have  honor,  and  courage,  and  resolution  in . 
them  ?  You  must  get  men  of  a  spirit ;  and  take  it  not  ill 
what  I  say, — I  knoAv  you  will  not, — of  a  spirit  that  is  likely 
to  go  on  as  far  as  gentlemen  will  go : — or  else  you  will  be 
beaten  still.'  I  told  him  so;  I  did  truly.  He  was  a  wise 
and  worthy  person  ;  and  he  did  think  that  I  talked  a  good 
notion,  but  an  impracticable  one.  Truly  I  told  him  I  could 
do  somewhat  in  it.  I  did  so,  and  the  result  was, — impute  it 
to  what  you  please, — I  raised  such  men  as  had  the  fear  of 
God  before  them,  as  made  some  conscience  of  what  they 
did ;  and  from  that  day  forward,  I  must  say  to  you,  they 
were  never  beaten,  and  wherever  they  were  engaged  against 


THE    KINGSHIP.  241 

the  enemy,  they  beat  continually.  And  truly  this  is  matter 
of  praise  to  God  :  and  it  hath  some  instruction  in  it,  to  own 
men  who  are  religious  and  godly.  And  so  many  of  them 
as  are  peaceably,  and  honestly,  and  quietly  disposed  to  live 
within  rules  of  government,  and  will  be  subject  to  those  Gos- 
pel rules  of  obeying  magistrates — I  reckon  no  godliness 
without  that  circle  !  Without  that  spirit  it  is  diabolical, — it 
is  devilish, — it  is  from  diabolical  spirits, — from  the  depth  of 
Satan's  wickedness. 

"  I  will  be  bold  to  apply  this  [what  I  said  to  Mr.  Hamp- 
den] to  our  present  purpose;  because  there  are  still  such 
men  in  this  nation ;  godly  men  of  the  same  spirit,  men  that 
will  not  be  beaten  down  by  a  worldly  or  carnal  spirit  while 
they  keep  their  integrity.  And  I  deal  plainly  and  faithfully 
with  you,  Avhen  I  say :  I  cannot  think  that  God  would  bless 
an  undertaking  of  anything  [kingship  or  whatever  else! 
which  would,  justly  and  with  cause,  grieve  them.  I  know 
that  very  generally  good  men  do  not  swallow  this  title.  It 
is  my  duty  and  my  conscience  to  beg  of  you  that  there  may 
be  no  hard  things  put  upon  me ;  things,  I  mean,  hard  to 
them,  which  they  cannot  swallow.  By  showing  a  tenderness 
oven  possible  (if  it  be  their  weakness)  to  the  weakness  of 
those  who  have  integrity,  and  honesty,  and  uprightness,  you 
will  be  the  better  able  to  root  out  of  this  nation  all  those 
who  think  their  virtue  lies  in  despising  and  opposing  au- 
thority. "* 

Thus  did  Cromwell,  although  struck  undoubtedly  by  the 
lumerous  and  powerful  reasons  urged  by  Parliament  for 
substituting  the  title  of  King  for  that  of  Protector,  refuse  to 
accept  it.  He  wjus  prevented  by  the  fear  of  offending  the 
honest  republicans,  whom  he  might  so  eiisily  have  reduced 
to  silence,  and  of  injuring  the  prosperity  of  England.  There 
was  much  to  be  said  on  both  sides.  Clarendon  informs  us, 
that  if  he  had  once  been  made  king  he  would  have  received 
the  allegiance  of  most  of  the  royalisLs,  of  which  he  had  b^en 
♦  Somert'  Trartii,  vi  365.  Carlyle,  iii.  :J05-3lO. 
21 


242  THE    KINGSHIP. 

assured  by  several  of  the  principal  nobility.  But  Cromwell 
could  not  resolve  to  alienate  his  old  friends,  even  should  he 
gain  over  his  former  enemies.  A  man  of  potver  has  rarely 
shown  such  condescension  to  the  opinions  of  others,  at  the 
very  moment,  too,  when  he  thinks  them  ill  founded.  These 
are  not  the  manners  of  a  despot. 

The  struggle  between  him  and  the  Parliament  still  con- 
tinued. The  great  committee  of  ninety-nine  did  not  consider 
itself  beaten,  and  returned  seriously  to  the  contest.  On  the 
16th  of  April,  another  conference  took  place.  Whitelocke 
urged  on  the  Protector,  that  by  refusing  the  crown  he  would 
do  what  king  of  England  had  never  done, — reject  the  advice 
of  his  Parliament.  Another  of  the  committee  declared  that 
it  was  his  duty  to  accept,  and  added,  that  he  ought  by  no 
means  to  shrink  from  his  duty.  Others  put  forward  many 
weighty  arguments,  but  Oliver  woidd  not  give  way. 

On  the  20th  of  April,  there  was  a  new  conference,  in 
which  the  Protector  refuted  the  reasonings  of  the  16th, 
He  said,  "  I  have  not  desired  the  continuance  of  my  power 
or  place  either  under  one  title  or  another.  I  speak  not  this 
vainly  or  as  a  fool,  but  as  to  God.  If  the  wisdom  of  this 
Parliament  should  have  found  a  way  to  settle  tlie  interests 
of  this  nation,  upon  the  foundations  of  justice,  and  truth,  and 
liberty  to  the  people  of  God,  and  concernments  of  men  as 
Englishmen,  I  would  have  lain  at  their  feet,  or  at  anybody 
else's  feet,  that  things  might  have  run  in  such  a  current.  I 
know  the  censures  of  the  world  may  quickly  pass  upon  me, 
and  are  already  passing  ;  but  I  thank  God  I  know  where  to 
lay  the  weight  of  reproach,  and  contempt,  and  scorn,  that 
hath  been  cast  upon  me."* 

Who  has  any  right  to  accuse  Cromwell  of  dissimulation 
when  he  made  these  solemn  declaratioris?  If  he  was  calum- 
niated in  his  day  of  power,  it  is  still  more  easy  to  calumniate 
him  now  that  he  is  dead ;  and  in  this,  many  individuals  have 
shpwn  no  lack  of  zeal.  We  feel  no  inclination  for  so  dishon* 
♦  Somers'  Tracts,  vi.  387.     Carlyle,  iu.  320. 


THE    KINGSHIP.  248 

orable  a  task.  In  studying  the  Protector's  character,  let 
them  only  exercise  a  little  of  that  impartiality  which  is  due 
to  every  man,  even  to  the  most  useless  and  obscure,  and  I 
entertain  no  doubt  they  will  shake  off  the  prejudices  which 
darken  his  memory. 

The  Protector  handed  to  the  committee  a  paper  explana- 
tory of  his  motives  for  refusing  the  title  of  king.  It  was  in 
truth  a  mere  question  of  title.  In  his  eyes,  and  accordincf  to 
the  just  and  picturesque  expression  he  employed,  it  was 
merely  asking  him  whether  or  not  he  would  put  a  feather 
in  his  cap.  Unfortunately  the  document  above  mentioned 
is  lost. 

A  crown  had  never  been  his  aim.  The  object  of  his  am- 
bition was  the  liberty,  peace,  and  glory  of  England.  And 
he  attained  what  he  had  so  earnestly  thirsted  after. 

On  the  21st  of  April  he  delivered  another  speech,  in 
which  casting  a  retrospective  glance  on  his  past  life  and  on 
the  course  of  Providence,  he  said,  "  After  it  had  pleased 
God  to  put  an  end  to  the  war  of  this  nation  ;  a  final  end  ; 
Avhich  was  done  at  Worcester,  I  came  up  to  the  Parliament 
that  then  was  ;  and  though  I  had  not  been  well  skilled  in 
Parliamentary  affairs,  having  been  near  ten  years  in  the  field, 
I  desired  to  put  a  good  issue  to  all  tliose  transactions  which 
had  disordered  the  nation :  believing  verily  that  all  the  blood 
which  had  been  shed,  and  all  the  distemper  which  God  had 
suffered  to  be  amongst  us, — were  not  the  cud,  but  the  meam, 
which  had  an  end  and  were  in  order  to  somewhat.  Tndy 
the  end  then  was,  I  thought,  Settlement ;  that  is,  that  men 
might  come  to  some  consistencies, — to  some  settled  order  of 
things." 

Here  Oliver  shows  a  more  exalted  intelligence  than  Na- 
poleon Honaparte,  who  never  ceased  from  battles,  and  who 
made  them  rather  the  end  than  the  means. 

But  it  was  necessary  to  put  an  end  to  this  contest  between 
the  Protector  and  the  Parliament.  On  the  7th  of  May  the 
committee  presented  a  new  petition ;  luid  the  next  day  h« 


244  THE    KINGSHIP. 

summoned  the  House  before  him,  when,  after  a  rather  long 
speech,  he  said  in  a  manner  that  admitted  no  further  ques- 
tion :  "  I  cannot  undertake  this  government  with  the  title  of 
king.  And  that  is  mine  answer  to  this  great  and  weighty 
business." — Thus  he  refused  to  place  on  his  brows  the  crown 
of  the  Stuarts  and  of  the  Tudors.  There  are  few  men  re- 
corded in  ancient  or  modern  history  who  have  been  able, 
like  him,  to  resist  a  similar  temptation.  For  this  posterity 
has  not  shown  him  much  gratitude.  His  sole  reward  has 
been  insult.  We  will  be  more  just :  we  will  give  justice  to 
whom  justice  is  due,  honor  to  whom  honor. 

Royalist  writers  have  blamed  Oliver  for  not  accepting  the 
kingship.  "  In  thus  yielding  to  men  of  weaker  minds  than 
his  own,"  says  one  of  these  historians,*  "  Cromwell  commit- 
ted the  same  error  which  had  been  fatal  to  Charles.  The 
boldest  course  would  have  been  the  safest.  The  wisest 
friends  of  the  royal  family  were  of  opinion,  that  if  he  had 
made  himself  king  de  facto,  and  restored  all  things  in  other 
respects  to  the  former  order,  no  other  measure  would  have 
been  so  injurious  to  the  royal  cause."  The  same  writer  goes 
even  further,  and  adds  :  "  His  mind  (Oliver's)  had  expanded 

with  his  fortune Fain  would  he  have   restored   the 

monarchy,  created  a  House  of  Peers,  and  re-established  the 
episcopal  church."  A  singular  fate  is  Cromwell's  !  Some 
reproach  him  for  having  desired  to  be  king ;  others  blame 

him  for  not  having  desired  it Both  are  wrong.     He 

evidently  thought  that  monarchy  was  a  form  necessary  to 
Great  Britain ;  but  it  must  be  a  constitutional  monarchy, 
such  as  exists  in  the  present  day.  He  would  have  nothing 
to  do  with  the  republic  of  one  party,  or  with  the  despotism 
of  another.  He  could  not  establish  this  form  of  government 
during  his  lifetime ;  but  he  did  establish  it  after  his-  death. 
Oliver  is  the  real  founder  of  the  constitutional  monarchy  of 
the  eighteenth  and  nineteenth  centuries. 

It  is  in  this  portion  of  Cromwell's  life  that  writers  have 
*  Southey  (Life  of  Cromwell),  who  in  this  agrees  with  Clarendon. 


THE    KINGSHU'.  245 

been  the  most  active  in  search  of  hypocrisy,  although  oa 
many  other  occasions,  both  before  and  after,  the  same  re- 
proach has  been  made  against  him.  But  he  could  say  with 
St.  Paul  :  Our  rejoicing  is  this,  the  testimony  of  our  con,' 
science,  that  in  siinplicity  and  godly  sincerity,  not  with  jleshly 
msdonu  hut  by  the  grace  of  God,  we  have  hud  our  conversa- 
tion  in  the  world,  and  more  abundantly  to  you-ward.  At  the 
very  beginning  of  his  public  life,  he  said  to  his  friend  Mr. 
St.  John  (11th  September,  1643),  "  I  desire  not  to  seek  my- 
self." At  a  season  when  all  minds  were  the  most  disturbed, 
and  insults  the  most  frequent,  he  remained  calm,  and  open- 
ing his  heart  to  Fairfax,  wrote  to  him  with  Christian  serenity 
and  firmness  5  "  Never  were  the  spirits  of  men  more  imbit- 
tered  than  now.  Surely  the  devil  hath  but  a  short  time. 
Sir,  it's  good  the  heart  be  fixed  against  all  this.  The  naked 
simplicity  of  Christ,  with  that  wisdom  he  is  pleased  to  give, 
and  patience,  will  overcome  all  this."  (lith  March,  1647.) 
Oliver  never  lost  his  assurance  in  God  :  he  never  doubted 
that,  sooner  or  later,  the  just  Judge  would  vindicate  him. 
"  Though  it  may  be  for  the  present  a  cloud  may  lie  over  our 
actions  to  those  who  are  not  acquainted  with  the  grounds  of 
them,"  wrote  he  to  Colonel  Jones  on  the  14th  of  September, 
1647  ;  "yet  we  doubt  not  that  God  will  clear  our  integrity 
and  innocency  from  any  other  ends  we  aim  at  but  His  glory 
and  the  public  good."  Tlie  cloud  has  long  hung  over  Crom- 
well's memory  ;  but  God  has  cleared  it  away  at  last,  and  the 
most  prejudiced  eyes  will  now  look — not  upon  the  "  mon- 
ster" which  their  own  imaginations  had  created,  but — upoa 
an  upright  and  sincere  man, — upon  a  Christian,  and  at  the 
same  time  upon  a  hero. 

Oliver  knew  how  to  profit  by  the  abuse  of  men.  He  was 
nut  puflcd  up  by  it,  as  is  frequently  the  case  ;  it  the  rather 
made  him  feel  more  keenly  his  own  poverty  and  weakness ; 
but  it  did  not  crush  him.  "  When  we  think  of  our  God, 
wliat  are  we  ?"  he  wrote  to  Lord  Wharton,  on  the  2nd  of 
September,  1648.  "Oh,  His  mercy  to  the  whole  Bociety 
21* 


246  THE    KINGSHIP. 

of  saints, — despised,  jeered  saints !  Let  them  mock  on. 
Would  we  were  all  saints  !  The  best  of  us  are,  God  knows, 
poor  weak  saints  ; — yet  saints  ;  if  not  sheep,  yet  lambs  ;  and 
must  be  fed.  We  have  daily  bread,  and  shall  have  it,  in 
despite  of  all  enemies.  There's  enough  in  our  Father's 
house,  and  He  dispenseth  it." 

Was  there  no  ambitious  sentiment  in  the  Protector,  espe- 
cially in  this  affair  of  the  kingship  ?  To  deny  this  absolutely 
would  be  making  him  superior  to  the  conditions  of  mortal 
existence.  There  is  no  man  that  sinneth  not,  says  the  Scrip- 
ture. Oliver  was  not  exempt  from  this  general  rule.  All 
that  we  would  say  is,  that  he  was  conscientious  in  this  strug- 
gle, and  that  if  the  flesh  lusted  against  the  spirit,  the  spirit 
fought  against  the  flesh.  Cromwell  possessed  a  living  faith  ; 
and  that  faith  is  a  power  which  every  day  grows  stronger 
in  the  heart.  The  object  for  which  God  places  this  heav- 
enly and  divine  power  in  man  is  to  overcome  the  evil,  the 
earthly,  and  the  sensual  powers  that  have  taken  up  their 
abode  in  his  bosom.  The  question,  therefore,  is  not  whether 
these  two  contrary  elements, — the  neiv  man  and  the  old  man, 
— do  not  exist  together  in  the  same  individual ;  but  whether 
the  struggle  between  them  is  sincere  and  loyal. 

In  Oliver  the  struggle  was  indeed  sincere. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

LAST  PARLIAMENT  AM)  DKATH  OK  THK  FROTECTOR. 

The  Installation — Two  Houses  of  Parliament — The  grand  Design — 
Petty  Quarrels — Parliament  dissolved — Conspiracies — Death  of  Lady 
Claypole — Consolations — Fever — George  Fox  at  Hampton  Court — 
Cromwell's  Words  on  his  Deathbed — Confidence — The  Storm — 
Cromwell's  Successor — His  Prayer  and  Last  Words — His  Death — 
Mourning — Cromwell's  Christian  Character — Oliver  and  the  Pope — 
Restoration  of  Mankind — The  Protestfint  Way — Oliver's  Principles — 
The  Pope's  Policy — Conflicts  and  Dangers  of  the  State — The  Two 
Men  of  the  Seventeenth  Century— Conclusion. 

On  the  26th  of  June,  1657,  Cromwell,  after  his  refusal  of 
the  kingship,  was  again  solemnly  inaugurated  Protector. 
The  Speaker  in  the  name  of  the  Parliament  presented  to  him 
in  succession  a  robe  of  purple  velvet,  a  bible,  a  sword,  and  a 
sceptre  of  massive  gold.  The  parliament  was  afterwards 
prorogued  until  the  20th  of  January  in  the  following  year. 

On  its  re-assembling  it  consisted  of  two  houses.  The  Pro- 
tector had  told  the  Commons  that  he  woidd  not  undertake 
the  government  unless  there  was  some  body  which,  by  inter- 
posing between  him  and  the  lower  house,  would  be  able  t< 
keep  seditious  and  turbulent  persons  in  check.  This  was 
readily  granted  ;  and  as  soon  as  the  regulating  power  was 
established,  Oliver  thought  himself  bound  to  revoke  the  ex- 
ceptional measure  by  which  he  had  supplied  its  place  at  the 
time  of  the  first  meeting  of  the  Commons.     Their  number 

was  augmented  by  the  hundred  excluded  members 

a  bold  and  dangerous  concession.  The  other  house  (as  the 
Lords  were  called)  consisted  of  sixty-one  hereditary  mem- 


248  LAST    PARLIAMENT    AND 

bers,  nominated  by  the  Protector,  among  whom  were  his  two 
sons  and  his  two  sons-in-law. 

Cromwell  opened  this  new  Parliament  on  the  20th  of 
January,  1658,  beginning  with  the  usual  form,  My  Lords 
and  Gentlemen  of  the  House  of  Commons.  He  returned 
thanks  to  God  for  His  favors,  at  the  head  of  which  he 
reckoned  peace  and  the  blessings  of  peace,  namely,  the  pos- 
session of  political  and  spiritual  liberty.  As  religion  was 
always  the  first  of  interests  in  his  estimation,  Oliver,  when 
speaking  of  this  power,  which  is  the  strength  of  nations, 
called  to  their  remembrance  "  that  England  had  now  a  godly 
ministry   [clergy],    a    knowing    ministry ;    such  a  one  as, 

without  vanity  be  it  spoken,  the  world  has  not If 

God,"  added  he  in  conclusion,  "  should  bless  you  in  this 
work,  and  make  this  meeting  happy  on  this  account,  the 
generations  to  come  will  bless  us." 

The  proceedings  of  this  Parliament  did  not  answer  to  the 
Protector's  expectations.  The  Commons  would  have  no  other 
house.  One  republican,  Haselrig,  refused  to  be  made  a  peer, 
and  took  his  seat  in  the  Commons.  Cromwell  endeavored  to 
raise  the  attention  of  parliament  above  all  these  trivialities, 
and  direct  it  to  the  great  questions  which  concerned  the 
country. 

Summoning  both  houses  before  him  on  the  25th  of  Janu- 
ary, the  Protector  said  to  them  : — "  Look  at  affairs  abroad. 
The  grand  design  now  on  foot,  in  comparison  with  which  all 
other  designs  are  but  low  things,  is,  whether  the  Christian 
world  shall  be  all  Popery  ?  Is  it  not  true  that  the  Protes- 
tant cause  and  interest  abroad  is  quite  under  foot,  trodden 
down  ?  The  money  you  parted  with  in  that  noble  charity 
which  was  exercised  in  this  nation,  and  the  just  sense  you 
had  of  those  poor  Piedmonts,  was  satisfaction  enough  to 
yourselves  of  this.  That  if  all  the  Protestants  in  Europe  had 
liad  but  that  head,  that  head  had  been  cut  off,  and  so  an  end 
of  the  whole. 

"  But  is  this  of  Piedmont  all  ?    No.     Look  how  the  house 


DEATH    OK    THK    PROTECTOR.  249 

of  Austria,  on  both  sides  of  Christendom,  both  in  Austria 
Proper  and  in  Spain,  are  armed  and  prepared  to  destroy  the 
whole  Protestant  interest."* 

After  demonstrating  his  thesis,  OHver  continued  thus  : — 
"And  look  to  that  that  calls  itself  the  head  of  all  this — a 
pope  !  He  influences  all  the  powers,  all  the  princes  of  Eu- 
rope to  accomplish  this  bloody  M'ork.  So  that  what  is  there 
in  all  the  parts  of  Europe  but  a  consent,  a  co-operating,  at 
this  very  time  and  season,  of  all  popish  powers  to  suppress 
everything  that  stands  in  their  way  ?"f  All  this  was  per- 
fectly true.  The  statesmen  of  England  did  not  then  give 
way  to  fatal  delusions.  The  Protector  had  ej-es  to  see,  and 
ears  to  hear. 

Cromwell,  after  pointing  out  the  dangers  abroad,  examined 
next  into  those  at  home  ;  inquiring  what  blessings  ought  to 
be  preser\'ed,  and  what  precautions  should  be  taken  for  that 
purpose.  All  his  thoughts  were  for  the  happiness  of  his 
people. 

"  We  have,"  said  he,  "  two  blessings  :  Peace  and  the  Gos- 
pel. Let  us  have  one  heart  and  soul  ;  one  mind  to  maintain 
the  honest  and  just  rights  of  this  nation.  If  you  run  into 
another  flood  of  blood  and  war,  this  nation  must  sink  and 
perish  utterly.  I  beseech  you  and  charge  you  in  the  name 
and  presence  of  God,  and  as  before  Him,  be  sensible  of 
these  things,  and  lay  them  to  heart.J  If  you  prefer  not  the 
keeping  of  peace,  that  we  may  see  the  fruit  of  righteousness 
in  them  that  love  peace  and  embrace  peace, — it  will  be  said 
of  this  poor  nation  :  Actum  est  de  Anglia,  It  is  all  over  with 
England. § 

"  AVhile  I  live,  and  am  able,  I  shall  be  ready  to  stand  and 
fall  with  you.  I  have  taken  my  oath  to  govern  according  to 
the  laws,  and  I  trust  I  shall  fully  answer  it.  And  know,  I 
sought  not  this  place.     I   speak  it  before  God,  jvngels,  and 

•  Burton,  ii.  351.     Carlyle 'a  Cromwell,  iii.  405,  406. 
t  Carlyle's  Cromwell,  iii.  407.  t  ^^^<^-  428. 

\  Il.id.  .1-2  J. 


250  LAST    PARLIAMENT    AND 

men ;  I  did  not.  You  sought  me  for  it,  you  brought  me  to 
it."* 

This  noble  language  did  not  produce  the  effect  that  might 
have  been  expected  from  it.  The  Commons  had  not  the 
Protector's  piercing  eye.  Instead  of  embracing,  like  him, 
all  Europe  and  its  destinies,  they  squabbled  about  paltry  in- 
terests and  petty  rivalries.  The  house  lost  itself  in  useless 
and  dangerous  discussions.  Quarrels,  dissension,  and  civil 
war  were  at  the  door,  and  "  the  English  hydra,"  says  Carlyle, 
"  cherished  by  the  Spanish  Charles  Stuart  invasion,  would 
have  shortly  hissed  sky-high  again,  had  that  continued."! 

There  Avas  a  rumor  of  an  army  of  20,000  men  appearing 
with  a  petition  for  the  re-establishment  of  Charles  Stuart, 
and  of  another  force  of  10,000  landing  in  England ;  "  by 
the  jealousy  (to  say  no  worse)  of  our  good  neighbors,"  wrote 
Hartlib,  Milton's  friend,  to  Pell. J  "  Besides,"  continues  he, 
"  there  was  another  petition  set  on  foot  in  the  city  for  a  com- 
monwealth, which  would  have  gathered  like  a  snowball." 

The  well-disposed  members  endeavored,  but  without  eflfect, 
to  maintain  order,  and  to  direct  the  attention  of  the  house 
to  useful  objects  of  legislation.  Many  violent  attacks  were 
made  upon  the  members  of  the  other  house,  who  were  re- 
solved to  defend  themselves.     They  forgot  the  great  aims  of 

the  Protector, the  liberty,  prosperity,  and  glory  of 

his  country,  and  gave  way  to  wretched  personalities.  Crom- 
well had  far  outstripped  his  age  :  his  contemporaries  could 
not  follow  him.  The  public  men  of  England  required  that 
constitutional  education  which  genius  and  the  Gospel  had 
given  the  Protector.  This  they  have  now  received,  and  for 
it  they  are  in  an  especial  manner  indebted  to  him. 

Yet  for  a  time  the  nation  was  again  placed  between  the 
democracy  of  the  levellers  and  the  despotism  of  the  Stuarts, 
— between  the  hammer  and  the  anvil.  It  was  necessary  for 
such  a  state  of  things  to  be  brought  to  a  speedy  termination. 

*  Carlyle's  Cromwell,  iii.  424.  t  Ibid.  426. 

%  Vaughan's  Protectorate,  ii.  443 


DEATH    OP    THB    PROTECTOR.  261 

On  the  4th  of  February,  1658,  while  the  lower  house  was 
forgetting  its  dignity  in  some  idle  discussion,  the  usher  of  the 
Black  Rod  announced  that  his  Highness,  the  Protector,  was 
in  the  House  of  Lords,  and  desirous  of  speaking  with  the 
Commons.  The  first  house  (for  such  was  their  title)  hastily 
complied  with  the  summons. 

"  My  Lords  and  Gentlemen,"  said  the  Protector,  "  I 
would  have  been  glad  to  have  lived  imder  ray  woodside,  to 
have  kept  a  flock  of  sheep,  rather  than  undertaken  such  a 
government  as  this.  But  ixjjdertaking  it  by  the  advice  and 
petition  of  you,  I  did  look  that  you  who  had  offered  it  unto 
me  sliould  make  it  good. 

"  Yet,  instead  of  that,  you  have  not  only  disjointed  your- 
selves but  the  whole  nation,  which  is  in  likelihood  of  running 
into  more  confusion  in  these  fifteen  or  sixteen  days  that  you 
have  sat,  than  it  hath  been  from  the  rising  of  the  last  session 
to  this  day.  They  are  endeavoring  to  engage  the  army, 
which  is  nothing  else  but  playing  the  King  of  Scots'  game 
(if  I  may  so  call  him) ;  and  I  think  myself  bound  before 
God  to  do  what  I  can  to  prevent  it.  I  think  it  high  time  that 
an  end  be  put  to  your  sitting.  And  I  do  dissolve  this  par- 
liament; nnd  let  God  be  judge  between  you  and  me."* 

These  v  -re  the  last  words  uttered  by  him  in  public.  He 
was  then  :  oidly  approaching  that  solemn  moment  when  the 
judgment  "  the  Almighty,  to  which  he  had  appealed,  was 
to  be  acco     Jished. 

The  mos.  'nlightened  men  thought  with  Cromwell.  Hart- 
hb  wrote  a  few  days  after  to  Mr.  Pell :  "  Believe  me,  it  was 
of  such  necessity  that,  if  their  session  had  continued  but  two 
or  three  days  longer,  all  had  been  in  blood,  both  in  city  and 
country,  ujxjn  Charles  Stuart's  account. "f 

As  Oliver  felt  convinced  that  these  disturbances  originated 
chiefly  with  the  principal  officers  of  the  army,  he  set  aside 
Harrison  and  Ludlow,  recalled  Fleetwood  from   his  govem- 

•  Burton,  ii.  465.     Carlylc's  Cromwell,  iii.  I'-'T-  j:W. 
f  Vaiighan's  Protectorate,  ii   ii-2      Cxrl    Hi«t    ni   "205 


252  LAST   PARLIAMENT    AND 

ment  in  Ireland,  and  cancelled  Lambert's  commission ;  the 
rest  were  obliged  to  take  an  oath  not  to  oppose  the  present 
government. 

All  these  measures  were  insufficient  to  check  the  fanatical 
republicans.  Having  failed  in  their  design  in  parliament, 
they  determined  upon  killing  the  Protector,  and  proclaiming 
King  Jesus.  The  conspiracy  was  discovered,  and  the  lead- 
ers were  apprehended. 

A  more  formidable  combination  was  preparing  among  the 
cavaliers.  For  three  weeks  the  J^arquis  of  Ormond  had  been 
living  privately  in  London,  engaged  in  promoting  the  king's 
affairs.  Charles  Stuart  had  an  army  of  8000  men  and 
twenty-two  ships  ready  to  sail.  Three  of  the  conspirators 
were  arrested,  and,  on  the  8th  of  June,  one  of  them,  Doctor 
Hewet,  was  beheaded  on  Tower-hill. 

Although  Cromwell  was  so  occupied  at  home,  he  did  not 
forget  the  evangelical  Christians  abroad.  One  of  the  last 
documents,  which  relate  to  his  foreign  policy,  evinces  his 
love  for  the  suffering  brethren.  The  poor  Waldenses  of 
Piedmont  were  again  disquieted,  and  by  Oliver's  directions 
Milton  addressed  the  following  letter  to  Louis  XIV.* 

"  To  the  most  serene  and  potent  Prince,   Louis,   King  of 
France, 

"  Most  serenk  and  potent  King,  Most  august  Friend  and 
Ally. 

"  Your  Majesty  may  recollect  that  during  the  negotiation 
between  us  for  the  renewing  of  our  alliance  (which  many  ad- 
vantages to  both  nations,  and  much  damage  to  their  common 
enemies,  resulting  therefrom,  now  testify  to  have  been  very 
auspiciously  done),  there  happened  that  miserable  slaughter 
of  the  people  of  the  Valleys ;  whose  cause,  on  all  sides  de- 
serted and  trodden  down,  we  recommended  with  the  greatest 
♦  Milton's  Prose  Works,  p.  815.     Lond.  1833. 


DEATH    OF    THE    PUOTECTOR.  263 

earnestness  and  commiseration  to  your  mercy  and  protection. 
Nor  do  we  think  your  Majesty,  for  your  own  part,  has  been 
wanting  in  an  office  so  pious  and  indeed  so  human,  in  so  far 
as  either  by  authority  or  favor  you  might  have  influence  with 
the  Duke  of  Savoy  :  we  certainly,  and  many  other  princes 
find  states,  by  embassies,  by  letters,  by  entreaties  directed 
thither,  have  not  been  wanting. 

"  After  that  most  sanguinary  massacre,  which  spared 
neither  age  nor  sex,  there  was  at  last  a  peace  given  ;  or 
rather,  under  the  specious  name  of  peace,  a  certain  more  dis- 
guised hostility.  The  terms  of  the  peace  were  settled  in 
your  town  of  Pignerol :  hard  terms  indeed,  but  such  as  those 
indigent  and  wretched  people,  after  suffering  all  manner  of 
cruelties  and  atrocities,  might  gladly  acquiesce  in  ;  if  only, 
hard  and  unjust  as  they  are,  they  were  adhered  to.  They 
are  not  adhered  to :  the  purport  of  every  one  of  them  is,  by 
false  interpretation  and  various  subterfuges,  eluded  and  vio- 
lated. Many  of  these  people  are  ejected  from  their  old 
habitations  ;  their  religion  is  prohibited  to  many  ;  new  taxes 
are  exacted  ;  a  new  fortress  has  been  built  over  them,  out 
of  which  soldiers  frequently  sallying  plunder  or  kill  whom- 
soever they  meet.  Moreover,  new  forces  have  of  late  been 
privily  got  ready  against  them ;  and  such  as  follow  the  Ro- 
mish religion  are  directed  to  withdraw  from  among  thera 
within  a  limited  time ;  so  that  everything  seems  now  again 
to  point  towards  the  extermination  of  all  those  unhappy  peo- 
ple whom  the  former  massacre  had  left. 

"  Which  now,  O  most  Christian  King,  I  beseech  and  ob- 
test thee,  by  thy  right  hand  which  pledged  a  league  and 
friendship  with  us,  by  the  sacred  honor  of  that  title  of  Most 
Christian, — -permit  not  to  be  done  ;  nor  let  such  license  of 
butchery  be  given,  I  do  not  say  to  any  prince  (for  indeed  no 
cruelty  like  this  could  come  into  the  mind  of  any  prince, 
much  less  into  the  tender  years  of  that  young  prince,  or  into 
the  woman's  heart  of  his  mother),  but  to  those  most  cursed 
assassins,  who,  while  they  profess  themselves  the  servants 

22 


254  LAST   PARLIAMENT   AND 

and  imitators  of  Christ  our  Saviour,  who  came  into  the  world 
to  save  sinners,  abuse  His  merciful  name  and  commandments 
to  the  cruellest  slaughterings  of  the  innocent.  Snatch,  thou 
who  art  able,  and  who  in  such  ah  elevation  art  worthy  to  be 
able,  those  poor  suppliants  of  thine,  from  the  hands  of  mur- 
derei's,  who,  lately  drunk  with  blood,  are  again  athirst  for  it, 
and  think  convenient  to  turn  the  discredit  of  their  own  cru- 
elty upon  the  score  of  their  prince's.  Suffer  not  either  thy 
titles  or  the  frontiers  of  thy  kingdom  to  be  polluted  with 
that  discredit,  or  the  all-peaceful  Gospel  of  Christ  to  be 
soiled  by  that  cruelty,  in  thy  reign.  Remember  that  these 
very  people  became  subjects  of  thy  ancestor,  Henry,  that 
great  friend  to  Protestants  ;  when  Lesdiguieres  victoriously 
pursued  the  Savoyard  across  the  Alps,  through  those  same 
valleys,  where  indeed  lies  the  most  commodious  pass  to 
Italy.  The  instrument  of  their  surrender  is  yet  extant  in  the 
public  acts  of  your  kingdom :  in  which  this  among  other 
things  is  specified  and  provided  against,  That  these  people 
of  the  ^'alleys  should  not  thereafter  be  delivered  over  to  any 
one  except  on  the  same  conditions  under  which  thy  invincible 
ancestor  had-received  them  into  fealty.  This  protection  they 
now  implore  :  the  protection  promised  by  thy  ancestor  they 
now  suppliantly  demand  from  thee,  the  grandson.  To  be 
thine  rather  than  his  whose  they  now  are,  if  by  any  means 
of  exchange  it  could  be  done,  they  would  wish  and  prefer  : 
if  that  may  not  be,  thine  at  least  by  succor,  by  commisera- 
tion and  deliverance. 

"  There  are  likewise  reasons  of  state  which  might  induce 
thee  not  to  reject  these  people  of  the  valleys  flying  to  thee 
for  refuge  :  but  I  would  not  have  thee,  so  great  a  king  as 
thou  art,  be  moved  to  the  defence  of  the  unfortunate  by 
other  reasons  than  the  promise  of  thy  ancestors,  and  thy  own 
piety  and  royal  benignity  and  greatness  of  mind.  So  shall 
the  praise  and  fame  of  this  most  worthy  action  be  unmixed 
and  clear ;  and  thyself  shalt  find  the  Father  of  Mercy,  and 
his  Son  Christ  the  King,  whose  name  and  doctrine  thou  shalt 


bEATll    OF   THE   PROTECTOR.  266 

have  vindicated  from  this  hellish  cruelty,  the  more  favorable 
and  propitious  to  thee  through  the  whole  course  of  thy  life. 
"  May  the  Almighty,  for  His  own  glory,  for  the  safety  of 
so  many  most  innocent  Christian  men,  and  for  your  true 
honor,  dispose  your  Majesty  to  this  determination. 

"  Your  Majesty's  most  friendly 
"  Oliver,  Protector  of  the  Commonwealth  of  England. 
"  Westminster,  26th  May,  1658." 

Cromwell  at  the  same  time  forwarded  the  most  earnest 
recommendations  to  Sir  William  Lockhart,  his  ambassador 
at  the  French  court.  We  shall  quote  the  last  paragraph 
only,  in  which  the  hint  given  to  Louis  XIV.  is  more  fully  de- 
veloped. 

"  One  of  the  most  effectual  remedies,  which  we  conceive 
the  fittest  to  be  applied  at  present  is,  that  the  King  of  France 
would  be  pleased  to  make  an  exchange  with  the  Duke  of 
Savoy  for  those  valleys ;  resigning  over  to  him  some  other 
part  of  his  dominions  in  lieu  thereof, — as,  in  the  reign  of 
Henry  IV.,  the  marquisate  of  Saluces  was  exchanged  with 
the  duke  for  La  Bresse.  Which  certainly  could  not  but  be 
of  great  advantage  to  his  Majesty,  as  well  for  the  safety  of 
Pignerol,  as  for  the  opening  of  a  passage  for  his  forces  intu 
Italy, — which  passage,  if  under  the  dominion  and  in  the 
hands  of  so  powerful  a  prince,  joined  with  the  natural 
strength  of  these  places  by  reason  of  their  situation,  must 
needs  be  rendered  impregnable."* 

This  was  a  happy  idea.  Had  the  geographical  situation 
permitted  the  union  of  the  Waldenses  to  the  Swiss,  for  in- 
stance, it  would  have  been  a  great  blesiiing  for  that  poor 
people.  But  most  certainly  it  would  not  have  been  right  to 
place  them  under  the  sceptre  of  Louis  XIV.  In  1685,  when 
this  mighty  king  was  no  longer  restrained  by  the  Protector, 
who  had  been  laffl  in  the  tomb  many  years  before,  it  was  at 

•  Ayncough  MSS.  4107,  f.  89;  in  Curlyle,  iii.  416. 


268  LAST   PARLIAMENT   AND 

the  instigation  of  France  that  new  persecutions  burst  upon 
the  unfortunate  Protestants  of  Piedmont, 

It  has  often  been  said  in  these  latter  days,  with  reference 
to  an  alhance  between  Spain  and  France,  that  the  govern- 
ment of  the  latter  nation  had  shut  their  eyes  to  the  necessi- 
ties of  the  present  moment ;  that  formerly  it  was  right  for 
France  to  unite  with  Spain,  because  she  was  at  war  with 
England  ;  but  that  now  every  international  proceeding  ought 
to  be  subordinate  to  the  cordial  understanding  between 
France  and  England.  This  is  true :  but  if  the  French  gov- 
ernment has  committed  a  great  fault,  what  shall  we  say  of 
the  sagacity  of  Cromwell,  who,  outstripping  his  contempo- 
raries by  two  centuries,  inaugurated  so  long  ago  the  alliance 
of  those  two  countries  ? 

The  Protector's  health  was  now  gradually  declining :  he 
was  sinking  under  the  weight  of  care  and  fatigue,  England 
was  pressing  on  and  killing  him. 

A  domestic  affliction  increased  his  disorder.  Lady  Clay- 
pole,  his  favorite  daughter,  lay  dangerously  sick  at  Hampton 
Court.  During  fourteen  days  the  unliappy  father,  unable 
to  attend  to  any  public  business  whatever,  did  not  quit  her 
bedside.  On  the  6th  of  August  she  died.  His  heart  was 
crushed  ;  but  he  soon  found  the  Christian's  consolation. 
Having  withdrawn  to  his  closet  he  called  for  his  Bible,  and 
desired  a  godly  person  there  present  to  read  to  him  a  pas- 
sage from  the  fourth  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Philip, 
plans  :  /  have  learnt,  in  whatsoever  state  I  am,  therewith  to 
be  content.  I  know  both  how  to  be  abased,  and  I  know  how  to 
abound.  Everywhere,  and  by  all  things,  I  am  instructed  ; 
both  to  befall  and  to  be  hungry,  both  to  abound  and  to  suffer 
need.  I  can  do  all  things,  through  Christ  which  strengtheneth 
me. 

After  these  verses  were  read,  the  afflicted  parent  re- 
marked :  "  This  Scripture  once  saved  my  life ;  when  my 
eldest  son  died  ;  which  went  as  a  dagger  to  my  heart ;  in- 
deed it  did,"     Thus  did  Oliver,  when  near  his  end,  reveal 


DEATH    OF    THK    PROTECTOR.  257 

to  US  all  the  magnitude  of  that  deep  sorrow,  which  the 
Bible  calls  the  bitterness  for  a  Jirst-bom  (Zech.  xii.  10).  He 
declared  that  he  was  then  on  the  point  of  dying  of  grief ; 
adding  that  he  was  now  once  more  reduced  to  the  like  ex- 
tremity ;  but  at  the  same  time  he  exclaimed  with  King  David : 
2^hy  word  hath  quickened  me  ! 

After  this,  the  bereaved  father  began  to  read  the  eleventh 
and  twelfth  verses,  on  St.  Paul's  contentment  and  submis- 
sion to  the  will  of  God  in  all  conditions  of  life.  "  It's  true, 
Paul,"  said  he,  "  you  have  learnt  this,  and  attained  to  this 
measure  of  grace :  but  what  shall  /  do  ?  Ah,  poor  crea- 
ture, it's  a  hard  lesson  for  me  to  take  out !     1  find  it  so  !" 

The  afflicted  ruler,  like  Rachel  weeping  for  her  children, 
refusing  to  be  comforted,  because  they  were  not,  read  on  to 
the  thirteenth  verse,  where  St.  Paul  says,  /  can  do  all  things 
through  Christ  that  strengtheiwth  me.  These  words  began  to 
reanimate  his  faith  :  Christ's  omnipotence  was  felt  in  his 
soul;  his  heart  found  consolation,  and  he  said  to  himself: 

"  Yes,  I  feel  it,  I  see  it — He  that  was  Paul's  Christ 

is  my  Christ  too  !"  What  a  beautiful  sentiment !  what  an 
affecting  scene  !  There  are  not  many  great  men  in  history, 
who  have  shown  themselves  such  true  Christians  in  their 
hours  of  sorrow.  Did  the  piety  of  Charlemagne,  of  St. 
Louis,  or  of  the  Electors  of  Saxony  in  the  days  of  the  Ref- 
ormation, exceed  that  of  the  Protector  of  England  ? 

On  the  2 1st  of  August  he  was  attacked  with  a  fever.  He 
took,  however,  a  few  rides  in  the  park  at  Hampton  Court ; 
and  it  was  on  one  of  these  occasions  that  he  received  the 
last  visit  from  George  Fox.  Several  quakers  had  been  sent 
10  prison,  and  two  years  before,  when  the  Protector  was  in 
I^ondon,  Friend  George  had  remonstrated  with  him  on  such 
proceedings.  As  he  was  taking  his  evening  drive  in  Hyde 
Park  surrounded  by  his  guards.  Fox  rode  up  to  the  carriage 
dixjr,  in  spite  of  all  opposition.  Oliver  lowered  the  window, 
and  welcomed  him  very  cordially.  But  on  the  following 
day,  at  Whitehall,  when  Fox  felt  certain  of  success,  the 


258  LAST    PARLIAMENT    AND 

scene  changed.  "  Cromwell  spoke  lightly  of  me,"  said  the 
quaker.     "  As  I  was  standing  by  the  table,  he  came  and  sat 

on  the  end,  and  spake  liglit  things  to  me, and  treated 

me  scornfully.  He  said  to  me  that  my  enormous  self-confi- 
dence (he  meant  my  confidence  in  God  who  was  within  me) 
was  none  of  the  least  of  my  attainments."  The  quaker  re- 
tired somewhat  discontented. 

Fox  thus  describes  his  last  interview.  "  I  took  a  boat 
and  went  up  to  Kingston,  and  from  thence  went  afterward 
towards  Hampton  Court,  to  speak  with  the  Protector  about 
the  suflferings  of  the  Friends.  I  met  him  riding  into  Hamp- 
ton Court  Park ;  and  before  I  came  at  him,  as  he  rode  at  the 
head  of  his  life-guard,  I  saw  and  felt  a  waft  {whiff  or  ap'pa- 
rition  ?)  of  death  go  forth  against  him ;  and  when  I  came  to 
him,  he  looked  like  a  dead  man.  After  I  had  laid  the  suf- 
ferings of  the  Friends  before  him,  and  had  warned  him,  ac- 
cording as  I  was  moved  to  speak  to  him,  he  bid  me  come  to 

his  house Then  next  day  when  I  came  he  was  sick, 

and  I  never  saw  him  any  more."* 

These  interviews  between  Oliver  and  George  Fox  are  re- 
markable. It  was  a  doctrine  very  similar  to  that  of  the 
Friends  which  had  misled  the  former.  He  had  believed  it 
his  duty  to  follow  the  inward  voice  instead  of  inquiring  sim- 
ply what  the  Almighty  prescribes  in  his  Word.  Now,  he 
blames  the  quaker  for  this  very  idea — that  God  is  in  him 
and  speaks  in  him.  He  perceives  in  this  pretended  voice  of 
Heaven  "  an  enormous  self-confidence."  Did  the  excesses 
to  which  the  Friends  carried  the  doctrine  which  had  at  first 
actuated  Cromwell  cause  him  to  throw  them  off?  Did  he, 
before  his  death,  forsake  that  erroneous  theory  which  had 
led  him  so  far  ?  Did  he  die,  as  a  simple  and  humble  Chris- 
tian man,  exclaiming  with  Isaiah  :  To  the  law  and  to  the  tes- 
timony !     Everything  would  seem  to  indicate  it. 

Cromwell's  disorder  grew  worse.  He  was  soon  advised 
to  keep  his  bed,  and  as  the  ague-fits  became  more  severe,  he 
♦  Fox,  Journal,  i.  381,  ed.  1656.     Carlyle,  iii.  452. 


DEATH    OF    THE    PROTECTOR.  259 

was  removed  to  Whitehall.  Prayers,  both  public  and  pri- 
vate, were  abundantly  oftered  up  on  his  behalf. 

The  Protector's  language  on  his  sick-bed  unveiled  his 
thoughts  and  the  favorite  occupations  of  his  heart.  Accor- 
ding to  the  words  of  St.  Paul,  he  set  his  affections  on  things 
above,  and  not  on  things  on  tfte  earth. 

The  sick  man,  tortured  by  fever,  spoke  much  of  the  cove- 
nant between  God  and  his  people.  He  saw,  on  the  one 
side,  the  covenant  of  works  ;  but,  on  the  other,  he  hailed 
with  rapture  the  saving  covenant  of  grace.     "  They  were 

Two,"  he  exclaimed,  as  he  tossed  on  his  bed  ;  "  Two, 

but  put  into  One  before  the  foundation  of  the  world  !'•  He 
was  then  silent  for  a  time,  but  resumed :  "  It  is  holy  and 

true,  it  is  holy  and  true,  it  is  holy  and  true  ! Who 

made  it  holy  and  true  ?  The  Mediator  of  the  covenant !" 
After  a  brief  silence,  he  spoke  again :  "  The  covenant  is  but 
One.  Faith  in  the  covenant  is  my  only  support.  And  if  I 
believe  not, He  abides  faithful  !" 

Cromwell's  sole  hope,  when  thus  brought  low,  was  in  Him 
who  cannot  deny  Himself.  The.se  words  of  Scripture  seemed 
continually  resounding  in  his  heart :  Bg  grace  ye  are  saved 
through  faith  ;  and  that  not  of  yourselves :  it  is  the  gift  of 
God.  (Eph.  ii.  8.)  The  dying  Protector  heard  this  decla- 
ration of  the  Apo.stle,  and  confidingly  responded,  Amen. 

As  his  wife  and  children  stood  weeping  round  his  bed,  he 
said  to  them  :  "Love  not  this  world  !  I  say  unto  you,  it  is 
not  good  that  you  should  love  this  world  !  I  leave  you  the 
covenant  to  feed  upon !" 

What  a  legacy  !  he  knew  its  value — a  value  far  above  that 
of  the  Protectorship  of  England..  What  the  dying  Christian 
begged  for  his  children  was  that  inheritance  incorruptible  and 
undefiled,  of  which  St.  Peter  speaks,  which  fadeth  not  away, 
reserved  for  us  in  heaven. 

"  Lord,"  he  exclaimed,  "  Thou  knowest,  if  I  desire  to  live, 
it  is  to  show  forth  Thy  pmise  an^l  declare  Thy  works." — 
Another  time  he  was  heard  moaning :  "  Is  there  none  that 


260  LAST   PARLIAMENT   AND 

says,  Wlio  will  deliver  me  from  the  peril  ? Man  can 

do  nothing ;  God  can  do  what  he  will."  Thus  did  he  place 
himself  in  the  Lord's  hands,  according  to  that  saying  of  the 
Apostle :  If  I  live  in  the  flesh,  this  is  the  fruit  of  my  labor  ; 
yet  what  I  shall  choose  I  wot  not.  For  to  me  to  live  is  Christ, 
and  to  die  is  gain. 

Oliver's  mind,  however,  for  a  time  returned  to  earthly 
things  ;  but  only  as  regarded  his  own  responsibility  in  the 
sight  of  God  and  His  judgment.  At  this  solemn  hour,  feel- 
ing, as  it  were,  in  the  presence  of  eternity,  he  declared  that 
all  he  had  done  had  been  for  the  welfare  of  the  nation,  to  save 
it  from  anarchy  and  from  another  war.  As  a  public  man,  he 
showed  no  regret  for  his  actions.  V/e  have  seen  that,  de- 
ceiving himself,  no  doubt,  in  some  cases,  he  had  acted  with 
an  honest  and  firm  conviction  that  all  his  proceedings  were  in 
conformity  with  the  Divine  will. 

Yet  he  could  not  escape  from  those  anxieties  which  so  fre- 
quently disturb  sincere  minds  in  the  hour  of  death.  He  knew 
that  he  was  a  sinner.  He  could  say  with  the  Psalmist :  My 
sin  is  before  me;  and  ciy  with  Job :  The  terrors  of  God  set  them- 
selves in  array  against  me.  Thrice  over  he  repeated  these 
words  of  Scripture  :  It  is  a  fearful  thing  to  fall  into  the  hands 
of  the  living  God.  But  this  trouble  did  not  last  long.  Crom- 
well knew  Him  who  died  once  unto  sin,  and  could  exclaim  with 
David :  Blessed  is  he  whose  sin  is  covered.  He  resumed : 
"  All  the  promises  of  God  are  in  Bim :  Yes,  and  in  Him, 

Amen  ;  to  the  glory  of  God  by  us, by  us  in  Jesus 

Christ The  Lord  hath  filled  me  with  as  much  assur- 
ance of  His  pardon,  and  His  love,  as  my  soul  can  hold 

I  think  I  am  the  poorest  wretch  that  lives :  but  I  love  God ; 

or  rather,  am  beloved  of   God I  am  a  conqueror, 

and  more  than  a  conqueror,  through  Christ  that  strengthen- 
eth  me  !"* 

Such  were  Cromwell's  engrossing  reflections  in  those  sol- 

*  These  details  are  taken  from  Carlyle,  iii.  450,  &c.  Maidstone's 
Pamphlet. 


DEATH    OF    THE    PROTECTOR.  261 

emn  moinents,  when  the  soul,  no  longer  master  of  itself, 
shows  what  it  really  is.  All  his  thoughts  were  for  the 
Saviour,  for  His  covenant,  for  heaven.  No  projects  of  ambi- 
tion, no  designs  of  his  adversaries  then  occupied  his  mind. 
He  thought  of  God  alone.     This  is  a  decisive  proof. 

We  have  seen  men  who  have  played  a  distinguished  part 
in  the  world  unbosom  themselves  entirely  in  the  agitated 
dreams  which  precede  death.  A  certain  cardinal,  for  instance, 
who  had  led  a  dissolute  life,  but  who  had  been  at  the  same 
time  an  influential  statesman,  was  heard  to  give  utterance  in 
liis  last  moments  to  the  language  of  obscenity.  The  brilliant 
veil  of  his  glory  and  power  was  rent,  and  disclosed  nothing 
but  infamy  and  corruption.  In  like  manner  the  veil,  if  indeed 
there  was  a  veil,  of  Cromwell  was  torn  asunder ;  in  these 
awful  moments  we  may  see  to  the  bottom  of  his  heart,  and 
all  that  we  can  find  there  is  the  love  of  God  and  of  His  Gos- 
pel. May  the  Almighty  give  his  accusers  tho  power  of  sus- 
taining, as  well  as  he  did,  this  terrible  trial ! 

On  Monday  (August  30),  a  dreadful  hurricane  burst  over 
London.  The  wind  howled  and  blew  with  such  violence  that 
travellers  feared  to  set  out  on  their  journeys,  and  the  cham- 
bers of  Whitehall  re-echoed  with  its  hollow  roar.  Thurloe,  on 
behalf  of  the  council,  asked  the  dying  man,  who  was  to  be  his 
successor?  He  replied  that  his  name  would  be  found  at 
Hampton  Court  in  a  sealed  paper,  lying  in  a  place  which  he 
pointed  out.  That  document  was  never  discovered  ;  it  was 
thought  that  Richard,  his  eldest  son,  was  the  person  selected  ; 
but  why  should  there  have  been  so  much  mystery,  if  it  was 
merely  Cromwell's  natural  successor  ?  We  cannot  refrain 
from  the  supposition  that  Hmrtj  was  the  name  contiiined  in 
that  secret  paper, — his  own  second  son,  and  who  appeared 
to  possess  most,  if  not  all  of  his  father's  great  qualities.  When 
we  think  of  Oliver's  character  and  discernment ;  w^hen  we 
reflect  that  he  did  not  wish  his  choice  to  be  made  known  im- 
til  after  his  death  ;  we  cannot  entirely  reject  the  thought  that 
it  was  Henry  the  former  Governor  and  pacificator  of  Ireland, 


262  LAST   PARLIAMENT   AND 

whom  the  Protector  had  pointed  out  as  alone  capable  of  car- 
rying on  in  England  his  work  of  liberty,  prosperity,  and 
peace. 

That  same  night,  in  the  midst  of  the  tempest,  several  per- 
sons being  in  his  chamber,  and  Major  Butler  among  the  rest, 
the  dying  Christian  waa  heard  offering  up  a  solemn  prayer, 
of  which  it  has  been  said,  by  way  of  reproach,  that  it  was 
the  invocation  of  a  mediator  between  God  and  his  people, 
rather  than  that  of  a  poor  sinner.  Whether  he  felt  himself 
a  sinner  or  not,  this  very  prayer  will  tell  us ;  but  by  what 
right,  if  we  regard  the  supplications  of  a  dying  parent  for 

his  children  as  a  solemn  and  affecting  thing by  what 

right  do  men  presume  to  reproach  the  chief  of  a  great  peo- 
ple, if  he  prays  for  that  people,  at  the  very  moment  when 
God  is  resuming  the  reins  He  had  placed  in  his  hands,  and 
is  calling  him  to  eternity  ?  We  cannot  forbear  wishing  that 
God  would  give  all  the  rulers  of  the  nations  that  love  of 
their  people  which  is  stronger  than  death,  and  of  which  the 
Protector  has  left  us  one  of  the  noblest  examples  recorded 
in  history. 

Prayer. 

"  Lord,  though  I  am  a  miserable  and  wretched  creature,  I 
am  in  covenant  with  Thee  through  grace.  And  I  may,  I 
will  come  to  Thee  for  Thy  people.  Thou  hast  made  me, 
though  very  unworthy,  a  mean  instrument  to  do  them  some 
good,  and  Thee  service ;  and  many  of  them  have  set  too 
high  a  value  upon  me,  though  others  wish  and  would  be 
glad  of  my  death ;  Lord,  however  Thou  dispose  of  me,  con- 
tinue and  go  on  to  do  good  for  them.  Pardon  Thy  foolish 
people !  Forgive  their  sins  and  do  not  forsake  them,  but 
love  and  bless  them.  Give  them  consistency  of  judgment, 
one  heart,  and  mutual  love ;  and  go  on  to  deliver  them,  and 
with  the  work  of  reformation  ;  and  make  the  name  of  Christ 
glorious  in  the  world.     Teach  those  who  look  too  much  on 


DEATH    OF    THE    PROTECTOR.  263 

Thy  instruments,  to  depend  more  upon  Thyself.  Pardon 
such  as  desire  to  trample  upon  the  dust  of  a  poor  worm ; 
for  they  are  Thy  people  too.  And  pardon  the  folly  of  this 
short  prayer.  And  give  me  rest  for  Jesus  Christ's  sake,  to 
whom,  with  Thee  and  Thy  Holy  Spirit,  be  all  honor  and 
glory,  now  and  forever!     Amen."* 

In  such  words  Cromwell  pardoned  his  enemies,  and  prayed 
for  the  misguided  republicans  ;  in  fact  he  prayed  even  for 
Charles  Stuart  and  his  wretched  satellites,  who  afterwards 
trampled  upon  the  illustrious  ashes  of  the  Protector. 

On  the  Thursday  following,  Maidstone,  who  was  in  attend- 
ance on  his  Highness,  heard  him  saying  with  an  oppressed 
voice  :  "  Truly  God  is  good  ;    indeed  He  is  ;  He  will  not  " 

here  his  voice  failed  him ;  what  he  would  have  added 

was  undoubtedly "  leave  me  :  He  will  not  leave  me." 

He  spoke  again  from  time  to  time,  in  the  midst  of  all  his 
sufferings,  with  much  cheerfulness  and  fervor  of  spirit. 
"I  would  be  willing  to  live,"  he  said,  "to  be  farther  service- 
able to  God  and  His  people  ;  but  my  work  is  done.  Yet 
God  will  be  with  His  people." 

Ere  long  he  betrayed  by  his  movements  that  agitation 
which  often  precedes  death ;  and  when  something  was 
offered  him  to  drink,  with  the  remark  that  it  Avould  make 
him  sleep,  he  answered :  "  It  is  not  my  design  to  drink  or 
sleep  ;  but  mv  fli^><i(_rii  i^  fo  in.'il>f»  wliat  bii-^tc  T  (•■.\n  t"  hp 
gone." 

Towards  morning  h'!  sliowed  much  inward  consolation 
and  peace,  annihilating  and  judging  himself  before  God. 
This  was  the  3d  of  September,  1658,  the  anniversary  of  his 
famous  battles  of  Dunbar  and  Worcester ;  a  day  always  cel- 
ebrated by  rejoicings  in  honor  of  these  important  victories. 
When  the  sun  rose,  he  was  speechless,  and  between  three 
and  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  ho  expired.  God  shat- 
tered all  his  strength  on  this  festival  of  his  glory  and  his 
triumphs. 

•  Letters  and  SpeechoB,  iii.  457.     Ncale,  ii.  696. 


^¥?'f^?'"*'3™^'T"- 


264  LAST    PARLIAMENT    A^D 

Most  of  my  readers  are  familiar  with  Pascal's  remarks  on 
the  death  of  the  Protector.  "  Cromwell,"  he  says,  "  would 
have  laid  waste  all  Christendom,  the  royal  family  would 
have  been  forever  ruined,  and  his  own  forever  in  the  ascend- 
ant, but  for  a  little  grain  of  sand  which  stuck  in  his  urethra. 
Rome  herself  would  have  trembled  under  him,  but  this  little 
morsel  of  gravel,  for  it  was  nothing  else,  stopping  in  that 

place, behold  him  lying  dead,  his  family  brought  down, 

and  the  King  restored." — This  passage  shows  that  Pascal 
was  not  so  well  versed  in  history,  as  in  Christianity  and  in 
mathematics.  Instead  of  a  grain  of  sand,  it  was  a  violent 
fever  caught  in  the  same  palace  where  his  favorite  daughter 
had  breathed  her  last,  which  carried  off  the  greatest  Eng- 
lishman of  the  seventeenth  century.  Under  one  form  or 
under  another,  it  is  always  the  worm  that  eats  into  all  hu- 
man power  and  glory.  All  Jlesh  is  grass,  and  all  the  good- 
ness thereof  is  as  the  floiver  of  the  field.  The  grass  withereth, 
the  fiower  fadeth,  because  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  hloweth 
upon  it. 

The  sorrow  of  the  Protector's  friends  and  of  the  majority 
of  the  nation  cannot  be  described.  "  The  consternation  and 
astonishment  of  all  people,"  wrote  Fauconberg  to  Henry 
Cromwell,  "  are  inexpressible  :  their  hearts  seem  as  if  sunk 
within  them." — "  I  am  not  able  to  speak  or  write,"  said 
Thurloe ;  "  this  stroke  is  so  sore,  so  unexpected,  the  Provi- 
dence of  God  in  it  so  stupendous,  considering  the  person 
that  has  fallen,  the  time  and  season  wherein  God  took  him 
away,  with  other  circumstances,  I  can  do  nothing  but  put 

my  mouth  in  the  dust  and  say,  It  is  the  Lord It  is  not 

to  be  said  what  affliction  the  army  and  people  show  to  his 
late  Highness :  his  name  is  already  precious.  Never  ■vy^as 
there  any  man  so  prayed  for."* 

We  have  said  that  a  violent  tempest  burst  over  London 
shortly  before  Cromwell's  death.  Many  of  the  large  trees 
in  St.  James's  Park  were  torn  up  by  the  roots.  The  poet 
*  Letter  to  H.  Cromwell  in  Thurloe  State  Papers,  vii.  372. 


DEATH    OF    THK    PROTECTOR.  285 

Waller,  in  his  celebrateJ  lines,  represents  the  Protector's 
dying  groans  shaking  the  inland  of  Great  Britain,  and  the 
ocean  swelling  with  agitation  at  the  Icsb  of  its  master,  who, 
like  the  founder  of  Romo,  had  disappeared  in  a  storm. 

We  must  resign !    Heaven  his  great  soul  iloth  claim 

In  storms,  as  loud  as  his  immortal  f'am';: 

His  dying  groans,  tJs  List  breath  shakx;  r  '2T  isle ; 

And  trees,  uncut,  *alJ  for  his  funeral  pile ; 

About  his  palace  thair  broad  roots  are  lojk 

Into  the  air.     So  Roi-iulus  was  lost ! 

New  Rome  in  such  a  temjxjst  miss'd  her  King, 

And  from  obeying,  fell  to  worshipping. 

On  CEta's  top  th  is  licrcules  lay  dead, 

With  ruin'd  oaks  end  pines  about  h'mi  of  »ad. 

The  poplar,  too,  wlu-se  bough  he  wont  to  wear 

On  his  victorious  'lead,  lay  prostrate  tlierc. 

These  his  last  f  iry  from  the  mountain  rent : 

Our  dying  hero  Ir  nii  the  continent 

Ravish'd  whole  .^^wns,  and  forts  from  Spaniards  reft, 

As  his  last  legacy  lo  Britain  left. 

The  ocean,  which  so  long  our  hopes  confined, 

Could  give  no  lum  s  to  his  vaster  mind; 

Our  bounds'  enlargeinent  was  his  lalesi  toil, 

Nor  hath  he  left  us  prisoners  to  our  isle  : 

Under  the  tropic  is  -"ur  language  spoke. 

And  part  of  Flandert.  hath  received  our  yoke. 

From  civil  broils  he  d'd  us  disengage. 

Found  nobler  objects  ut  our  martial  rage, 

And,  with  wise  conduct,  Vt  his  country  sl.^^v'J 

The  ancient  way  of  conquering  abroad. 

Ungrateful  then  '  if  wc  no  tears  allow 
To  him  that  gave  us  neacc  and  empire  toa 
Princes  that  fear'd  him  grieve,  concern'u  to  •ee 
No  pitch  of  glory  from  'he  grave  is  free. 
Nature  herself  took  notict  of  his  death. 
And,  sighing,  swell'd  the  sea  with  such  a  breath, 
That,  to  remotest  shores  he.  billows  roll'd, 
The  approaching  fate  of  their  great  ruler  told. 

Most  of  tlio  sovereigns  of  Europe  wont  into  mourning,  and 
'J  3 


266  LAST    PARLIAMENT    AND 

even  Louis  XIV.  showed  this  outward  sign  of  respect.  The 
hberties  of  Europe,  rehgious  freedom,  and  the  great  cause  of 
Protestantism,  might  with  better  reason  have  covered  them- 
selves with  the  funeral  ciape.  But  the  death  of  their  illus- 
trious supporter  was  not  destined  to  bring  them  down  with 
him  to  the  tomb.  The  grass  withereth,  the  flower  fadeth  ; 
but  THE  Word  of  our  God  shall  stand  for  ever. 

Richard  gave  his  father  a  magnificent  funeral.  For  two 
months  the  embalmed  body  of  the  Protector  lay  in  state  at 
Somerset  House,  in  a  hall  hung  with  black,  and  illuminated 
by  a  thousand  wax-lights.  An  inscription  was  placed  over 
the  coffin,  on  which  these  words  might  be  read : — He  died 
with  great  assurance  and  serenity  of  soul.  This  is  the  truth, 
and  the  fact  that  it  establishes  is  more  glorious  to  the  Pro- 
tector than  all  the  parade  of  velvet  pall  and  funereal  torches. 

It  is  seldom  that  a  great  man  is  a  Christian ;  but  Crom- 
well Avas  both,  The  result  has  been,  that  men  of  the  world 
have  scouted  him  as  a  hypociite.  By  honor  and  dishonor, 
he  could  say  Avith  St.  Paul,  hy  evil  report  and  good  report : 
as  deceivers,  and  yet  true.  It  would  be  an  act  of  great 
meanness,  a  criminal  falsehood,  if  those  who,  by  studying 
the  life  of  this  great  man,  find  in  him  an  upright  heart  and 
a  sincere  piety,  should  unite  their  voices  with  those  of  his 
detractors.  We,  on  our  part,  desire  to  the  utmost  of  our 
ability  to  renounce  all  participation  in  this  gross  imposture. 

What  most  distinguishes  Cromwell  above  all  great  men, 
and  especially  above  all  statesmen,  is  the  predominance  in 
him, — not  only  in  his  person,  but  also  in  his  government, — 
of  the  evangelical  and  Christian  element.  He  thought  that 
the  political  and  national  greatness  of  Britain  could  not  be 
<»stablished  in  a  firm  manner,  unless  the  pure  Gospel  was 
(!ommunicated  to  the  people,  and  unless  a  truly  christian  life 
flowed  tlirough  the  veins  of  the  nation.  Its  blood  was 
frozen ;  and  he  thought  that  in  order  to  restore  their  former 
vigor  to  the  British  people,  Christianity  must  again  set  theii 


DEATH    OF    THE    PROTECTOR.  267 

hearts  beating.  Of  all  political  systems,  surely  this  is  as 
good  as  any  other. 

The  Reformation  and  the  Romish  hierarchy,  Oliver  and 
the  pope,  both  thought  that  the  influence  of  the  Chxirch  was 
necessary  to  the  prosperity  of  the  State.  But  although  they 
agreed  on  the  necessity  of  this  influence,  they  differed  wholly 
as  to  its  nature. 

In  Oliver's  system  the  influence  of  the  Church  upon  the 
State  is  purely  internal — it  is  moral  or  religious ;  while  in 
the  papal  system  this  influence  is  essentially  external,  being 
ecclesiastical  or  political.  For  Cromwell  the  Church  was 
the  invisible  Church  with  its  spiritual  powers ;  for  the  pope, 
it  was  the  visible  hierarchy  of  Rome  with  its  plots  and  in- 
trigues. 

Humanity  ought  to  be  sanctified  and  glorified :  this  is  the 
function  of  Christianity.  But,  according  to  Oliver  and  Prot- 
estantism, this  great  object  will  be  obtained  by  the  conver- 
bIod  of  every  individual  man.  Faith  brings  to  man  a  new 
life,  purifies  all  his  natural  capacities  and  consecrates  them 
to  God.  Undoubtedly  the  Church  is  the  means  by  which 
this  work  of  restoration  is  accomplished.  But  it  is  not  by 
its  outward  organization,  by  its  clerical  frame-work,  by  magi- 
cal virtues  concealed  in  the  sacraments,  that  it  is  eSccted ; 
it  is  brought  about  by  the  preaching  of  the  Word,  and  by 
the  operation  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

To  advance  this  work  of  regeneration  is  not  exclusively 
the  province  of  the  ministers  of  the  Church;  it  belongs  to  all 
Christians.  We  have  seen  how  Oliver  insisted  on  this  point 
in  Scotland.  Christ  dwells  in  every  believer,  and  He  cannot 
abide  there  in  inactivity.  If  in  hearcn  He  is,  for  the  salva- 
tion of  His  people,  prophet,  priest  and  king ;  on  earth  they 
should  imitate  Him,  and  bo,  for  His  glory,  prophets,  priests, 
and  kings. 

Lifi'  and  activity — a  lite  and  activity  conformable  to  the 
Jaw  of  God — being  thus  carried  by  evangelical  Christianity 
into  each  individual,  are  also  carried  into  the  mass,  into  so- 


268  LAST   PARLIAMENT   AND 

ciety,  into  the  Church,  and  into  the  State.  In  those  nations 
•where  the  evangehcal  spirit  prevails,  the  moral,  religious, 
and  intellectual  life  will  be  developed  ;  every  force  will  be 
set  in  motion ;  liberty  on  the  one  hand,  submission  to  the 
laws  on  the  other,  will  be  blessings  permanently  acquired ; 
and  the  nation  will  arrive  at  a  degree  of  power,  greatness, 
and  glory,  that  others  will  never  attain. 

Although  in  the  bosom  of  Protestant  nations  evangelical 
Christianity  is  far  from  having  reached  the  perfection  it 
ought  to  possess,  it  is  sufficient  to  compare  these  nations 
with  others,  in  order  to  perceive  that  such  is,  in  general,  the 
effect  of  those  principles  of  which  Oliver  was  one  of  the  most 
eminent  advocates.  In  Great  Britain  and  Spain  we  have  a 
signal  illustration  of  this  truth. 

If  Cromwell  salutes  the  English  nation,  as  "  a  very  great 
people — the  best  people  in  the  world," — it  is  because  they 
are  "  a  people  that  have  the  highest  and  clearest  profession 
among  them  of  the  greatest  glory,  namely  Religion."  If 
some  who  desire  to  have  "horse-races,  cock-fightings,  and 
the  like,"  say,  "  They  in  France  are  so  and  so  !"  Oliver 
replies,  "  Have  they  the  Gospel  as  we  have  ?     They  have 

seen  the  sun  but  a  little.     We  have  great  lights  !" He 

declares  what  has  been  the  principal  means  employed  by 
him  to  effect  the  good  of  the  British  nation  :  "  I  have  been 
seeking  of  God, — from  the  great  God, — a  blessing  upon  you 
(the  Parliament),  and  upon  these  nations."  In  his  closet, 
alone,  and  on  his  knees,  he  wrestled  with  God  to  promote 
the  good  of  his  people.  ,One  cause  was  with  him  superior 
to  all  the  political  interests  of  his  people — the  cause  of 
Christ ;  and  Cromwell  knew  that  it  was  by  being  faithful  to 
this,  that  he  could  secure  the  true  interests  of  his  nation. 
"  It  is  your  glory,"  said  he  to  Parliament,  "  and  it  is  mine — 

if  I  have  any  in  the  world it  is  my  glory  that  I  know 

a  cause  which  yet  we  have  not  lost ;  but  do  hope  we  shall 
take  a  little  pleasure  rather  to  lose  our  lives  than  lose  !".... 

In  what  did  Oliver  place  his  hope  and  his  confidence  for 


DKATH    OF    TUE    ritUTKCTOK.  2(59 

the  great  cause  which  he  upheld  ?  "  Supposing  this  cause 
or  this  business  must  be  carried  on,"  said  he  to  the  first 
Parliament,  on  the  22d  of  January,  1655,  "  it  is  either  of 
God  or  of  man.  If  it  be  of  man,  I  would  I  had  never 
touched  it  with  a  finger.  If  I  had  not  had  a  hope  fixed  in 
me  that  this  cause  and  this  business  was  of  God,  I  would 
many  years  ago  have  run  from  it.  If  it  be  of  God,  He  will 
bear  it  up.  If  it  be  of  man,  it  will  tumble  ;  as  everything 
that  hath  been  of  man  since  the  world  began  hath  done. 
And  what  are  all  our  histories,  and  other  traditions  of  ac- 
tions in  former  times,  but  God  manifesting  himself,  that  He 
hath  shaken,  and  tumbled  down,  and  trampled  upon,  every- 
thing that  he  hath  not  planted  ?  And  as  this  is,  so  let  the 
All-wise  God  deal  with  it.  If  this  be  of  human  structure 
and  invention,  and  if  it  be  an  old  plotting  and  contriving  to 
bring  things  to  this  issue,  and  that  they  are  not  the  births 
of  Providence, — then  they  will  tumble.  But  if  the  Lord 
take  pleasure  in  England,  and  if  He  will  do  us  good, — He 
is  very  able  to  bear  us  up  !  Let  the  difficulties  be  whatso- 
ever they  will,  we  shall  in  His  strength  be  able  to  encounter 
with  them.  And  I  bless  God  I  have  been  inured  to  difficul- 
ties ;  and  I  never  found  God  failing  when  1  trusted  in  Him. 
I  can  laugh  and  sing,  in  my  heart,  when   I  speak  of  these 

things  to  you  or  elsewhere 

"  For  I  look  at  the  people  of  these  nations  as  the  bless- 
ing of  the  Lord  :  and  they  are  a  people  blessed  by  God. 
They  have  been  so  ;  and  they  will  be  so,  by  reason  of  that 
immortal  seed  which  hath  been,  and  is  among  them  :  those 
regenerated  ones  in  the  land,  of  several  judgments,  who  are 
all  the  flock  of  Christ,  and  lambs  of  ('hrist :  His,  though 
perhaps  under  many  unruly  p  iid  troubles  of  spirit, 

whereby  they  give  disquiet  t"  i!;':ii  :\es  and  others.  Yet 
they  are  not  so  to  God  ;  since  to  us  He  is  a  God  of  other 
patience ;  and  He  will  own  the  least  of  truth  in  the  hearts 
of  His  people.  And  the  people  being  the  blessing  of  God, 
they  will  not  be  so  angry  but  they  will  prefer  their  safety  to 

2^*" 


r^p^  r    ■^"■"'^ 


270  LASI     TAiaiAMKNT    ANI> 

their  passions,  and  their  real  security  to  forms,  when  neces- 
sity calls  for  supplies.  Had  they  not  well  been  acquainted 
with  this  principle,  they  had  never  seen  this  day  of  Gospel 
liberty." 

Nothing  was  more  oftensive  to  Oliver  than  to  hear  it  said 
that  it  was  his  wisdom  and  his  skill  which  had  given  libert\', 
dominion,  and  glory  to  his  people.  He  tore  off  the  wreatli 
that  some  would  thus  have  placed  around  his  brows,  and 
like  those  mysterious  beings  in  the  Apocalypse,  he  cast  his 
crown  before  the  throne  of  the  Lamb,  saying :  "  Thou  art 
worthj^  0  Lord,  to  receive  glory,  and  honor,  and  power  !" 

"  '  It  was,'  say  some,  '  the  cunning  of  the  Lord  Protector,' 
— I  take  it  to  myself, — '  it  was  the  craft  of  such  a  man,  and 
his  plot,  that  hath  brought  it  about !  And  as  they  say  in 
other  countries.  There  are  live  or  six  cunning  men  in  Eno-- 
land  that  have  skill ;  they  do  all  these  things.'  Oh,  what 
blasphemy  is  this  !  Because  men  that  are  without  God  in 
the  world,  and  walk  not  wit!\  Him,  know  not  what  it  is  to 
pray  or  believe.  These  men  that  live  upon  their  nmmpsimus 
and  sum27sivius,  their  masses  and  service-books,  their  dead 
and  carnal  worship, — no  marvel  if  they  be  strangers  to  God, 
and  to  the  works  of  God,  and  to  spiritual  dispensations. 
And  because  the>j  say  and  believe  thus,  must  we  do  so  too  ? 
We  in  this  land  have  been  otherwise  instructed  ;  even  by 
the  Word,  and  Works,  and  Spirit  of  God. 

"  To  say  that  men  bring  forth  these  things  wdien  God 
doth  them, — ^judge  you  if  God  will  bear  this  !  I  wish  that 
every  sober  heart,  though  he  hath  had  temptations  upon 
him  of  deserting  this  cause  of  God,  yet  may  take  heed  how 
he  provokes  and  falls  into  the  hands  of  the  living  God  by 
such  blasphemies  as  these  !  According  to  the  tenth  of  the 
Hebrews  :  If  we  sin  ivilfully  after  that  we  have  received  the 
Jcnowledr/e  of  the  truth,  there  remains  no  more  saxrifice  for 
sin.  A  terrible  word  !  It  was  spoken  to  the  Jews  who, 
having  professed  Christ,  apostatized  from  Him.  What  then  ? 
Nothing  but  a  fearful  falling  into  the  hands  of  th4  living 


DEATH    OK    lllK    I'KOTKCTOH,  271 

Ood  ! — They  that  shall  attribute  to  this  or  that  person  the 
contrivances  and  production  of  those  mighty  things  God 
hath  wrought  in  the  midst  of  us  ;  and  fancy  that  they  have 
not  been  the  revolutions  of  Christ  Himself,  upon  rohose 
shoulders  the  r/overnment  is  laid, — they  speak  against  God, 
Jind  they  fall  under  His  hand  without  a  Mediator. 

"  If  we  deny  the  Spirit  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  glory  of  all  His 
works  in  the  world,  by  which  He  rules  kingdoms,  and  doth 
administer,  and  is  the  rod  of  His  strength, — we  provoke  the 
Mediator :  and  He  may  say  :  I  will  leave  you  to  God,  I  will 
not  intercede  for  you ;  let  Him  tear  you  to  pieces  !  I  will 
leave  thee  to  fall  into  God's  hands  ;  thou  deniest  me  my 
sovereignty  and  power  committed  to  me  ;  I  will  not  inter- 
cede nor  mediate  for  thee  ;  thou  fallest  into  the  hands  of 
the  living  God  ! — I  may  be  thought  to  press  too  much  upon 
this  theme.  But  I  pray  God  it  may  stick  upon  your  hearts 
and  mine.  The  worldly-minded  man  knows  nothing  of  this, 
but  is  a  stranger  to  it ;  and  thence  his  atheisms,  and  raur- 
murings  at  instruments,  yea,  repining  at  God  Himself.  And 
no  wonder ;  considering  the  Lord  hath  done  such  things 
amongst  us  as  have  not  been  known  in  the  world  these 
thousand  years,  and  yet  notwithstanding  is  not  owned  by 


us 


When  Oliver  set  forth  religion  as  the  true  source  of  a 
nation's  prosperity,  it  was  not  a  religion  of  impressions  only, 
an  enthusiastic  and  fanatical  religion ;  no !  it  was  a  moral 
religion.  In  his  eyes,  morality  wii-s  quite  as  important  as 
doctrine  :  he  knew  that /a///t  without  works  is  dead.  "I  did 
hint  to  you  my  thoughts  about  the  reformation  of  manners," 
he  said  to  Parliament  on  the  17th  of  September,  1050.  "  And 
those  abuses  that  are  in  this  nation  through  disorder,  arc  a 
thing  which  should  be  much  in  your  hearts.  It  is  that 
which,  I  am  confident,  is  a  description  and  character  of  the 
interest  you  have  been  engaged  against,  the  cavalier  interest ; 
the  badgo  nnd  chararlrr  of  roimtcnancing  profnnene.ss,  dis- 
order, and  wickedness  in  all  places, — and  whatever  is  most 


^TT 


mr^imig^m   iii  i^waipi  jv  i  w 


272  LAST   PARLIAMENT    AND 

of  kin  to  these,  and  most  agrees  with  wliat  is  Popery,  and 
with  the  profane  nobihty  and  gentry  of  this  nation !  In  my 
conscience,  it  was  a  shame  to  be  a  Christian,  within  these 
fifteen,  sixteen  or  seventeen  years,  in  this  nation !  Whether 
in  CcRsars  house,  or  elsewhere !  It  was  a  shame,  it  was  a 
reproach  to  a  man ;  and  the  badge  of  '  Puritan'  was  put  upon 
it. — We  would  keep  up  nobihty  and  gentry  : — and  the  way 
to  keep  them  up  is,  not  to  suffer  them  to  be  patronizers  or 
countenancers  of  debauchery  and  disorders  !  And  you  will 
hereby  be  as  laborers  in  that  work  of  keeping  them  up. 

"  A  man  may  tell  as  plainly  as  can  be  what  becomes  of  us, 
if  we  grow  indiflferent  and  lukewarm  in  repressing  evil,  under 
I  know  not  what  weak  pretensions.  If  it  lives  in  us,  there- 
fore ;  I  say,  if  it  be  in  the  general  heart  of  the  nation,  it  is  a 
thing  I  am  confident  our  liberty  and  prosperity  depend  upon 
— Reformation.  Make  it  a  shame  to  see  men  bold  in  sin  and 
profaneness,  and  God  will  bless  you.  You  will  be  a  blessing 
to  the  nation  ;  and  by  this,  will  be  more  repairers  of  breaches 
than  by  anything  in  the  world.  The  mind  is  the  man.  If 
that  be  kept  pure,  a  man  signifies  somewhat ;  if  not,  I  would 
very  fain  see  what  difference  there  is  betwixt  him  and  a 
beast.  He  hath  only  some  activit}^  to  do  some  more  mis- 
chief." 

Oliver  exerted  all  his  eloquence  to  persuade  the  parliament 
that  piety  and  decision  in  God's  cause  could  alone  save  Eng- 
land and  Protestantism.  There  was  never,  perhaps,  a  man 
more  decided  than  Cromwell,  and  he  would  fain  have  im- 
parted some  of  this  spirit  to  all  who  had  the  means  of 
influencing  the  prosperity  of  Great  Britain  and  of  the  Prot- 
estant world.  "  Now  if  I  had  the  tongue  of  an  angel,"  he 
continued  in  the  speech  we  have  just  quoted  ;  "if  I  was  so 
certainly  inspired  as  the  holy  men  of  God  have  been,  I  could 
rejoice,  for  your  sakes,  and  for  these  nations'  sakes,  and  for 
the  sake  of  God,  and  of  his  cause  which  we  have  all  been 
engaged  in,  if  I  could  move  affections  in  you  to  that  which, 
if  you  do  it,  will  save  this  nation  !     If  not, — you  plunge  it, 


DKATH    OK    THK    I'UOTECTOn.  273 

to  all  human  appearance,  it  and  all  interests,  yea  and  all 
Protestants  in  the  world,  into  irrecoverable  ruin ! — 

"  Therefore,  I  pray  and  beseech  you,  in  the  nanae  of 
Christ,  show  yourselves  to  be  men  ;  quit  yourselves  like  men ! 
It  doth  not  infer  any  reproach  if  you  do  show  yourselves 
men  :  Christian  men,  which  alone  will  make  you  '  quit  your- 
selves.' I  do  not  think  that,  to  this  work  you  have  in  hand, 
a  neutral  spirit  will  do.  That  is  a  Laodicean  spirit ;  and  we 
know  what  God  said  of  that  Church  :  it  was  lukewarm,  and 
therefore  he  would  spue  it  out  of  his  mouth!  It  is  not  a 
neutral  spirit  that  is  incumbent  upon  you.  And  if  not  a 
neutral  spirit,  it  is  much  less  a  stupefied  spirit,  inclining  you, 
in  the  least  disposition,  the  wrony  way  ! 

"  Men  are,  in  their  private  consciences,  every  day  making 
shipwreck  ;  and  it's  no  wonder  if  these  can  shake  hands  with 
persons  of  reprobate  interests  : — such,  give  me  leave  to  think, 
are  the  popish  interests.  It  is  not  such  a  spirit  that  will 
carry  this  work  on !  It  is  men  in  a  Christian  state ;  who 
have  works  with  faith  ;  who  know  how  to  lay  hold  on  Christ 
for  remission  of  sins,  till  a  man  be  brought  to  (/lorj/  in 
hope.  Such  a  hope  kindled  in  men's  spirits  will  actuate 
them  to  such  ends  as  you  are  tending  to. 

"  If  men,  through  scruple,  be  opposite,  you  cannot  take 
them  by  the  hand  to  carry  them  along  with  you, — it  were 
absurd  :  if  a  man  be  scrupling  the  plain  truth  before  him,  it 
is  in  vain  to  meddle  with  him.  He  hath  placed  another 
business  in  his  mind  ;  he  is  saying,  '  Oh,  if  we  could  but 
exercise  wisdom  to  gain  civil  liberty, — religion  would  fol- 
low !'  Could  we  have  carried  it  thus  far,  if  we  had  sat 
disputing  in  that  manner  ?  I  must  profess  I  reckon  that 
dilliculty  more  than  all  the  wrestling  with  flesh  and  blood. 
Doubting,  hesitating  men,  they  are  not  fit  for  your  work.  You 
must  not  expect  that  men  of  hesitating  spirits  under  the 
bondage  of  scruples,  will  be  able  to  carry  on  this  work,  much 
less  such  as  are  merely  carnal,  natural ;  such  as,  having  an 
outward  profession  of  godliness,  whom  the  apostle  speaks  o 


LAST    rARLrAMENT    ASD 


SO  often,  are  metnies  to  the  cross  of  Christ ;  whose  god  is  their 
helly  ;  whose  glory  is  in  their  shame  ;  who  mind  earthly  things. 

"  Give  me  leave  to  tell  you, — those  that  are  called  to  this 
work,  it  will  not  depend  for  them  upon  formalities,  nor  no- 
tions, nor  speeches  !  I  do  not  look  the  work  should  be  done 
by  these.  No,  but  by  men  of  honest  hearts,  engaged  to 
God ;  strengthened  by  Providence ;  enlightened  in  His 
words,  to  know  His  Word, — to  which  He  hath  set  His  seal, 
sealed  with  the  blood  of  His  Son,  with  the  blood  of  His  ser- 
vants :  that  is  such  a  spirit  as  will  carry  on  this  work. 

"  Therefore  I  beseech  you,  do  not  dispute  of  unnecessary 
and  unprofitable  things  which  may  divert  you  from  carrying 
on  so  glorious  a  work  as  this  is.  I  think  every  objection  that 
ariseth  is  not  to  be  answered  ;  nor  have  I  time  for  it.  I  say. 
Look  up  to  God  ;  have  peace  among  yourselves.  It  is  a 
union  this  between  you  and  me  :  and  both  of  us  imited  in 
faith  and  love  to  Jesus  Christ,  and  to  His  peculiar  interest 
in  the  world, — that  must  ground  this  work.  If  I  have  any 
peculiar  interest  which  is  personal  to  myself,  which  is  not 
subservient  to  the  public  end, — it  were  not  an  extravagant 
thing  for  me  to  curse  myself :  because  I  know  God  will  curse 
me,  if  I  have  !  I  have  learned  too  much  of  God  to  dally 
with  Him,  and  to  be  bold  with  Him,  in  these  things.  And 
I  hope  I  never  shall  be  bold  with  Him  ! — though  I  can  be 
bold  with  men,  if  Christ  be  pleased  to  assist ! — 

"  I  say,  if  there  be  love  between  us,  so  that  the  (Three) 
Nations  may  say,  '  These  are  knit  together  in  one  bond,  to 
prornote  the  glory  of  God,  against  the  common  enemy  ;  to 
suppress  everything  that  is  evil,  and  encourage  whatsoever 
is  of  godliness,' — yea,  the  nation  will  bless  you !  And  really 
that  and  nothing  else  will  work  off  these  disaffections  from 
the  minds  of  men  ;  which  are  great, — perhaps  greater  than 
all  the  other  oppositions  you  can  meet  with.  I  do  know 
what  I  say.  When  I  speak  of  these  things,  I  speak  my 
heart  before  God  ; — and,  as  I  said  before,  I  dare  not  be  bold 
with  Him.     I  have  a  little  faith :  I  have  a  little  lived  by 


DEATH    OF    THE    I'KOTECrOli.  276 

faith,  and  therein  I  may  be  bold.  If  I  spoke  other  than  the 
aflfections  and  secrets  of  my  heart,  I  know  He  would  not  bear 
it  at  my  hands  !  Therefore  in  the  fear  and  name  of  God : 
Go  on,  with  love  and  integrity,  against  whate\  er  arises  of 
contrary  to  those  ends  which  you  know  and  have  been  told 
of ;  and  the  blessing  of  God  will  go  with  you  ! — 

"  I  have  but  one  thing  more  to  say.  I  know  it  is  trouble- 
some : — but  I  did  read  a  Psalm  yesterday,  which  truly  may 
not  unbecome  both  me  to  tell  you  of,  and  you  to  observe. 
It  is  the  Eighty-fifth  Psalm  ;  it  is  very  instructive  and  signifi- 
cant :  and  though  I  do  but  a  little  touch  upon  it,  1  desire 
your  perusal  at  pleasure. 

"  It  begins  :  Lord,  Thou  hast  been  very  favoi'ahle  to  Thy 
laml  ;  Thou  hast  brought  back  the  cajjtivity  of  Jacob.  Thou 
hast  forgiven  the  iniquity  of  Thy  people  ;  Thou  hunt  covered 
all  their  sin.  Thou  Iiast  taken  away  all  the  fierceness  of  Thy 
wrath.  Thou  Iiast  turned  Thyself  from  tlie  fierceness  of  Thine 
anger.  Turn  us,  0  Qod  of  our  salvation,  and  cause  Tkine 
anger  towards  us  to  cease.  Wilt  Thou  be  angry  with  us 
for  ever  ;  wilt  Thou  draw  out  Thy  anger  to  all  generations  ? 
Wilt  Thou  not  revive  us  again,  that  Thy  people  may  rejoice 
in  Thee  ?  Then  he  calls  upon  God  as  the  God  of  his  salva- 
tion, and  then  saith  he  :  /  will  hear  what  Ood  the  Lord  will 
speak :  for  He  will  speak  peace  unto  His  people,  and  to  His 
saints ;  but  let  them  not  turn  again  to  folly.  Surely  his 
ilvation  is  nigh  them  that  fear  Him!  Oh! — that  glory  nmy 
ifirell  in  our  land !  Mercy  and  truth  are  met  together  ; 
righteousness  and  peace  liave  kissed  each  otlier.  Truth  shall 
spring  out  of  tlw  earth,  and  righteousness  sluill  look  down  from 
heaven.  Yea,  the  Lord  shull  give  t/tat  ichich  is  good,  and  our 
land  shall  yield  her  increase.  Righteousness  shall  go  befora 
Him,  and  shall  set  us  in  the  way  of  His  steps." 

Such,  then,  was  Oliver's  policy  :  "  Be  united  in  faith  and 
love  to  Christ !  Suppress  everything  that  is  evil,  and  en- 
courage whatsoever  is  of  godliness." 

This  is  not  the  policy  of  the  pope.     The  kingdom  of  God, 


2Y6  LAST    rAKLlAMENT    AND 

6ays  he,  is  in  the  Church  ;  the  Church  is  in  the  hierarchy  ; 
and  the  hierarchy  is  in  the  pope.  The  Church  finds  the 
State  far  from  God,  without  hfe  from  above  ;  and  imparts  to 
it  that  life,  not  by  regenerating  the  individuals  who  compose 
that  society,  but  by  attaching  them  in  a  mass  to  its  own 
ecclesiastical  organization.  If  the  State  submits  to  the 
Church,  it  is  a  Christian  state ;  if  it  opposes  the  Church, 
I.  e.  the  pope,  it  is  not  of  Christ  or  of  His  covenant. 
Popery  does  not  positively  exclude  the  internal  work,  which 
is  the  essence  of  Protestantism  ;  but  no  great  importance  is 
attached  to  it.  All  that  Romanism  requires  is  submission  to 
the  papacy,  and  an  outward,  legal  morality.  And  how  low 
the  standard  of  that  morality  has  been  brought  may  be 
learned  from  the  class-books  employed  in  her  theological 
seminaries. 

While  the  Protestant  principle  gives  a  nation  liberty,  Hfe, 
and  order ;  the  Romanist  principle,  on  the  contrary,  brings 
to  it  slavery,  disorder,  and  death. 

The  Romish  Church  would  fain  take  the  State  under  its 
guardianship,  and  insinuates  itself  everywhere  in  order  to 
direct  it.  Hence  there  arise  at  every  moment  conflicts  and 
disputes.  The  State  complains  that  the  Church  infringes  on 
its  rights  ;  and  the  Church,  that  the  State  encroaches  on  re- 
ligion ;  and  as  the  State  and  the  Church  have  each  their  par- 
tisans, this  may  lead  to  a  civil  war.  Such  struggles  are  not 
rare  in  the  countries  subjected  to  Roman-catholicism,  and  of 
this  in  our  days,  France,  Spain,  and  other  popish  kingdoms 
present  frequent  examples.  When  I  see  the  British  govern- 
ment proposing  the  formation  of  a  political  connection  with 
the  pope,  I  fancy  I  behold  those  kings  of  the  ancient  na- 
tions, whom  the  Roman  arms  subdued,  humbly  stretching 
out  their  enfeebled  hands  to  Rome  that  she  may  rivet  on 
them  the  manacles  of  the  conqueror. 

The  centralization,  which  is  the  characteristic  of  Popery, 
confers  on  it  great  strength.  Doubtless  the  time  is  past 
when  by  a  papal  bull  an  interdict  was  pronounced  against  a 


DEATH    OK    THE    PROTECTOR.  277 

whole  people,  and  when  even  kings  were  compelled  to  bend 
the  knee  before  it.  Yet  the  allocutions,  the  encyclical  let- 
ters, and  the  confessional,  still  possess  a  certain  power,  and 
even  in  these  times,  many  states  (Prussia  for  instance),  which 
have  had  to  deal  with  Rome,  have  experienced  ample  proof 
of  this. 

The  Romish  Church  is  so  much  the  more  formidable  to 
the  peace  and  prosperity  of  nations,  as  she  has  no  fixed  po- 
litical principles,  but  seeks  merely  her  own  power,  and  wil- 
lingly allies  herself  with  every  party,  provided  some  advan- 
tage can  be  derived  from  it.  She  will  unite  with  kings 
against  their  subjects,  and  with  subjects  against  their  kings, 
just  as  her  interest  may  require.  She  will  be  despotic,  she 
will  be  liberal :  she  will  be  proud,  and  she  will  be  meek. 
She  aims  at  one  thing  only — to  bind  prince  and  people  un- 
der the  throne  of  the  Vatican,  and  to  maintain  herself  erect 
above  them,  treading  with  one  foot  on  the  hand  of  the 
sovereign,  and  with  the  other  on  the  heart  of  the  people. 

This  servitude,  which  Popery  brings  on  the  nations,  ne- 
cessarily leads  in  their  case  to  a  moral  and  intellectual  tor- 
por, which  ere  long  becomes  a  political  and  industrial  death. 
Unhappy  Ireland,  as  we  have  before  remarked,  is  the  true 
substratum  of  Roman-catholicism. 

Such  is  the  system  which  Oliver  Cromwell  rejected,  and 
for  which  he  substituted  the  Gospel. 

He  was  wrong  when  he  determined  to  forbid  the  mass  ; 
and  we  have  seen  that  afterwards  he  was  willing  to  tolerate 
it.  Full  liberty  of  conscience  to  all  was  his  great  principle, 
and  it  will  gradually  become  the  device  of  the  whole  world. 
But  that  was  not  properly  tho  question,  which  wa.s  political 
rather  than  religious.  It  was  this  :  Could  the  subjects  of  a 
foreign  prince  be  active  citizens  in  another  state,  and  take 
part  in  its  administration  ?  If  individuals  were  excluded 
from  the  government  of  Great  Britain,  who  had  made  oath 
of  fidelity  to  the  princes  of  Versailles,  of  the  Escurial,  or 
of  the  imperial  castle  of  Vienna,  why  should  the  subjects 

24 


278  LAST    PARLIAMENT    AND 

of  the  prince  of  the  Quirinal  be  admitted  ?  It  might  have 
been  said  that  the  cases  were  very  different.  If  there 
was  a  difference,  was  it  not  in  this,  that  in  England,  for  in- 
stance, there  was  greater  danger  from  the  Pope  than  from 
the  King  of  France  ?  The  latter  had  no  pretensions  on 
England,  while  the  former  had  many.  A  foreign  king  com- 
municates but  seldom  with  his  subjects  who  may  be  in  Lon- 
don, while  the  virtue  and  fidehty  of  a  subject  of  the  prince 
of  the  Quirinal  consist  in  being  as  constantly  as  possible 
in  communication  with  that  prince  or  with  his  agents. 

I  will  not  solve  the  question:  it  is  not  my  business. 
Others  may  consider  it  their  duty  to  examine  it ;  I  content 
myself  with  stating  it  as  I  should  imagine  it  must  have  ap- 
peared to  Oliver  Cromwell. 

For  him  there  was,  however,  another  element  in  this 
question.  The  prince  of  the  Vatican  was  in  his  eyes  a  ma- 
lignant power,  the  man  of  sin,  who  necessarily  brings  deso- 
lation and  destruction  upon  the  nations.  The  statesmen  of 
our  days  reject  this  thought,  and  regard  it  as  a  folly.  We 
believe  that  they  are  mistaken,  and  that  they  will  see  their 
error  before  long. 

Much  has  been  said  of  Cromwell's  ambition.  This  made 
him  take  up  arms,  this  made  him  become  Protector,  this 
agitated  him  during  the  discussion  on  the  kingship !     The 

ambition  of  one  man ! and  is  this  all  that  man  can  see 

in  his  life  ?  It  is  a  paltry  manner  of  viewing  history.  In 
truth  it  was  a  very  different  thing,  and  very  different  thoughts 
which  filled  Oliver's  bosom.  It  was  not  a  feather  in  his  cap 
that  occupied  his  mind :  he  was  fighting  the  great  battle 
against  the  papacy  and  royalty  of  the  Middle  Ages, — the 
greatest  that  history  has  had  to  describe  since  the  establish- 
ment of  Christianity  and  the  struggle  of  the  Reformation. 

The  result  of  this  battle  was  the  deliverance  of  the  present 
age  and  of  ages  yet  to  come.  Without  Cromwell,  humanly 
speaking,  liberty  would  have  been  lost  not  only  to  England, 
but  to  Europe.     Even  Hume  in  one  place  ascribes  this  im- 


UEATH    OK    THK    PKOTECTOU.  279 

mense  and  glorious  result  to  the  puritans.  We  must  add, 
that  the  defeat  of  liberty  would  have  been  the  defeat  of  the 
Gospel. 

In  the  seventeenth  century  there  were  but  two  men :  Louis 
XIV.  and  Oliver  Cromwell ;  the  former  representing  absolu- 
tism and  Roman-catholicism ;  the  latter,  evangelical  Christian- 
ity and  liberty.  There  were  certainly  in  that  age  other  im- 
portant personages ;  and  who  will  not  recall  to  mind  the 
generous  Gustavus  Adolphus  ?  uut  the  two  chief  figures  are 
Louis  and  Oliver.  Between  them — between  their  systems,  if 
not  between  their  persons, — the  struggle  was  fought ;  and  the 
victory,  although  slow  and  long  disputed,  particvilarly  in 
France,  remained  with  Oliver.  They  are  the  representatives 
of  two  principles,— of  two  worlds.  The  two  gigantic  figures 
are  each  raised  on  a  lofty  pedestal ;  and  their  shadows  fall 
not  only  on  their  own  age,  but  extend  over  all  future  times. 

I  have  been  in  England ;  I  have  seen  in  her  great  manu- 
facturing cities  the  miracles  of  that  activity  which  covers  the 
whole  world  with  the  productions  of  a  petty  island  in  Eu- 
rope. In  the  ports  of  London,  of  Liverpool,  and  other 
places,  I  have  gazed  upon  those  floating  isles,  those  thou- 
sands of  masts  which  bear  afar  over  every  sea  the  riches  and 
power  of  the  nation.  I  have  admired  in  Scotland  a  simple, 
energetic,  and  active  people,  ready  to  sacrifice  everything 
rather  than  abandon  Chri.st  and  His  Word.  I  have  been 
present  at  the  debates  of  the  Parliament  of  the  three  king- 
doms, and  I  have  admired  that  eloquence  which,  not  content 
with  words,  goes  right  to  the  heart  of  the  matter,  and  impels 
the  nation  onwards  in  its  great  destinies.  I  have  found 
everywhere,  from  the  lower  classes  of  the  people  to  the  ex- 
alted stations  of  nobles  and  princes,  an  enthusiastic  love  of 
liberty.  I  have  wandered  through  those  halls  from  which 
are  conveyed  to  the  four  quarters  of  the  world  Bibles  printed 
in  every  known  language.  I  liave  prayed  in  the  churches, 
and  at  the  religious  meetings  have  been  transported  by  the 


280  LAST   PARLIAMENT   AND 

powerful  eloquence  of  the  speakers  and  the  acclamations  of 
the  audience.  I  have  found  in  the  families  a  morality  com- 
paratively greater  than  in  other  countries ;  and  pious  cus- 
toms, both  private  and  public,  more  generally  prevalent.  I 
have  been  struck  with  admiration  at  beholding  the  people  of 
those  islands,  encompassing  the  globe,  bearing  everywhere 
civilization  and  Christianity,  commanding  in  the  most  distant 
seas,  and  filling  the  earth  with  the  power  and  the  Word  of 
God. 

At  the  sight  of  such  prosperity  and  greatness,  I  said : 
Ascribe  ye  strength  unto  God :  His  excellence/  is  over  Israel, 
and  His  stren[/th  is  in  the  clouds.  O  God,  thou  art  terrible 
out  of  thy  holy  places  !  the  God  of  Israel  is  He  that  yiveth 

strength  and  power  unto  His  people Blessed  be  God  ! 

This  is  the  work  of  the  Reformation ; — it  is  Protestantism 
and  the  evangelical  faith  which  have  so  greatly  exalted  this 
nation,  and  given  it  such  influence. 

But  God  works  by  instruments ;  and  if  there  is  any  one 
man  who,  in  times  past,  has  contributed  more  than  another, 
more  than  all  others,  to  the  wonders  of  the  present  day,  that 

man  is Oliver  Cromwell.      The  existing  greatness  of 

England  is  but  the  realization  of  the  plan  he  had  con- 
ceived. 

If  that  enthusiasm  for  the  Gospel ;  if  that  opposition  to 
Popery, — those  two  distinctive  characteristics  of  his  mind, 
which  Cromwell  has  imprinted  on  the  people  of  Great  Brit- 
ain, should  ever  cease  in  England  ; — if  a  fatal  fall  should 
ever  interrupt  the  christian  course  of  that  nation ; — and  if 
Rome,  which  has  already  ruined  so  many  kingdoms,  should 
receive  the  homage  of  Old  England 

Then,  should  I  at  any  future  period  revisit  her  shores,  I 
should  find  her  glory  extinct,  and  her  power  humbled  to 
the  dust. 

But  this  melancholy  presentiment  will  never  be  realized. 
Great  Britain  Avill  be  faithful  to  the  path  which  God,  in  Oli- 
ver's day,  traced  out  for  her.     She  will  remain  a  city  set  upon 


IJEATII    OF    THK    I'ROTKCTOR. 


281 


a  hill,  which  cannot  he  hid,  and  which  scatters  over  the  world 
light,  civilization,  and  faith. 

Calling  these  things  to  mind,  as  I  composed  this  sketch,  I 
obeyed  the  dictates  of  my  conscience.  Out  of  tlie  abundance 
of  the  heart  the  mouth  speaketh. 

I  BELIEVED,   AND  THEREFOHE  HAVE  I  SPOKEN. 


THE    KND. 


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